Children in Care

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many children are in care in each  (a) primary and  (b) secondary school in each of the principal seaside towns in England.

Beverley Hughes: Classifications that enable analysis at town level, including seaside towns, are not readily available therefore this information can be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	Data have been published by the Department in SFR 23/2008: "Children looked after in England (including adoption and care leavers) year ending 31 March 2008". Table LAA1 of that publication provides information on the number of looked after children at 31 March by local authority for the last five years. This publication can be found on the Department's website via the following link:
	http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000810/index.shtml

Education Maintenance Allowance

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families whether he was kept informed of the number of students who had  (a) applied for a notice of entitlement,  (b) received a notice of entitlement,  (c) enrolled on a course and  (d) received a payment during his communications with the Learning and Skills Council about the administration of the education maintenance allowance.

Jim Knight: Since the beginning of September officials have received daily processing statistics, supplied by the contractor via the LSC, which have included each of the areas in question. This data has been relayed to Ministers in the regular updates they have received on the processing of education maintenance allowance applications.

Islam and Citizenship Education

Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families in how many mosque schools the Islam and Citizenship Education programme is being piloted; in which cities these schools are located; how the pilot will be evaluated; and when he expects the programme to be rolled out nationally.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The Islam and Citizenship Education Project is being piloted in 30 mosque schools in London, Bristol, Leicester, Bradford/Kirklees and Oldham/Rochdale. The Institute of Community Cohesion has been commissioned to evaluate the project. The draft lessons are freely available online to all mosque schools and will be updated in April 2009 following the end of piloting.

Languages: GCSE

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families in how many comprehensive schools 50 per cent. or more of pupils achieved a modern languages GCSE at grade A* to C in 2007.

Jim Knight: In 278 comprehensive schools(1) 50 per cent. or more of the pupils achieved a modern language GCSE at A* to C in 2007.
	The data was taken from the 2007 Achievement and Attainment Tables.
	(1 )Only schools with 10 or more pupils are included in the answer.

National Curriculum Tests

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what marks were required in Key Stage 2 tests in  (a) English and  (b) mathematics to achieve a level (i) 4 and (ii) 5 in (A) 1999, (B) 2006, (C) 2007 and (D) 2008.

Jim Knight: The National Assessment Agency (NAA) is responsible for administering National Curriculum tests. The NAA has provided the following table of marks required in Key Stage 2 English and mathematics tests to achieve Level 4 and 5. NAA uses a range of statistical and judgmental procedures to ensure that the standards of performance required for the award of each level are maintained consistently from year to year. The content of each test changes every year, therefore different numbers of marks may be required in different years to achieve a certain level. Levels are anchored to the National Curriculum so that a level 4 achieved in one year represents the same level of performance as a level 4 achieved in any other year.
	
		
			(a) KS2 English  (b) KS2 Maths 
			(i) Level 4  (ii) Level 5  (i) Level 4  (ii) Level 5 
			Reading  Writing  Overall  Reading  Writing  Overall   
			 (A) 1999 17 31 48 31 39 70 52 80 
			 (B) 2006 18 25 43 33 37 70 46 78 
			 (C) 2007 18 25 43 33 37 70 46 79 
			 (D) 2008 18 25 43 32 37 69 45 78

National Curriculum Tests

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families when he expects a decision to be made on a replacement contractor for next year's key stage tests; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: The Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) announced Edexcel as their preferred bidder for the one-year contract to deliver key stage 2 national curriculum tests for 2009 on 15 December 2008.

Sex and Relationships Education Steering Group

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  if he will place in the Library a copy of each piece of written evidence that has been presented to the Sex and Relationship Education Steering Group; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  if he will place in the Library a copy of each piece of research which has been commissioned by the Sex and Relationship Education Steering Group; what the cost was of each; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  how much has been spent by the Sex and Relationships Education Steering Group in each year since its establishment; and if he will make a statement;
	(4)  what discussions  (a) he,  (b) Ministers in his Department and  (c) officials in his Department have had since January 2008 with the Roman Catholic Church on material disseminated by his Department to Catholic schools on sex and relationship education; what views the Catholic Church put forward in those discussions; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: The Sex and Relationships Education (SRE) steering group was established in March 2008 and had its final meeting in October 2008, at which it signed-off its report and recommendations to Government. Steering group members were reimbursed travelling expenses, but were not paid a fee for participating in the review.
	To inform its consideration of the issues, the steering group commissioned:
	Two on-line surveys: one seeking young people's views on the SRE they had received at school; and the other seeking teachers' views on what was preventing more effective delivery of SRE. The young-people survey was supplemented with a residential event with a small group of UK Youth Parliament members to discuss issues in more detail. The administration of the surveys, the analysis of the results and facilitation of the residential event were undertaken by the Sex Education Forum, which was paid £13,625 to carry out this work; and
	Two literature reviews: one which reviewed the existing evidence on parents' views on SRE; and one which reviewed the international evidence on the impact of SRE. These reviews were carried out free of charge by Professor Roger Ingham, from the Centre for Sexual Health Research, Department of Psychology, University of Southampton, who was a member of the SRE review steering group.
	The total cost of the review was £18,630.
	Presentations were made to the steering group, summarising the key findings of the on-line surveys and literature reviews. A copy of each presentation will be placed in the House of Commons Library. In addition, a number of individuals and organisations submitted evidence to an 'SRE Review' e-mail account that was established to allow those who were unable to be accommodated on the steering group itself, to submit views. These submissions were circulated to the SRE review steering group for their consideration. Copies of these submissions will also be placed in the House of Commons Library.
	Oona Stannard, Chief Executive of the Catholic Education Service was a member of the SRE Review steering group and was in full agreement with the group's report and recommendations. Other than the SRE Guidance published in 2000, and the non-statutory programmes of study for Personal Well-Being issued in 2007, the Government have not issued guidance to Catholic or other schools on SRE delivery. The resources that schools use to support delivery of their SRE programmes are determined by each individual school.
	The Government published their response to the report by the SRE review steering group on 23 October. A copy of both the group's report and the Government response are available at:
	http://www.teachernet.gov.uk/docbank/index.cfm?id=13030

Young People: Mental Health

Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what assessment he has made of the recommendations relevant to his Department's policy responsibilities made in the Foresight report on Mental Capital and Wellbeing, with particular regard to those recommendations concerning young people and adolescents; and if he will make a statement.

Beverley Hughes: We welcome the Foresight's report 'Mental Capital and Wellbeing: Making the Most of Ourselves in the 21st Century', published in October 2008. The report's broad analysis and recommendations are very much in line with the approach in the Children's Plan. In particular, we welcome the distinction made in the report between the development of positive well-being and tackling of mental health conditions.
	We are already taking forward key programmes of work that are highlighted within the report such as work around parenting, children's social and emotional skills and the early years foundation stage.
	In addition, the Government's initial response to the final report of the independent review of Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services, 'Children and Young People in Mind', published on 18 November, set out a strong package of proposals and action that are directly relevant to much of the Foresight report's findings. We have set up a National Advisory Council for children's mental health and psychological well-being to advise us on implementing the recommendations of the independent review of CAMHS report and hold us to account on progress. Services for vulnerable children have been identified as a key priority area for the implementation of the CAMHS review's recommendations.

Departmental Conditions of Employment

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what guidance his Department provides to its managers on the right of employees of the Department to request flexible working; and what estimate his Department has made of the extent to which its staff in offices across the country have taken up this right.

Jonathan R Shaw: Departmental guidance supports managers by covering both the legislative requirement and the Departments application of its legislative requirement, for employees to change the hours they work, the times they are required to be at work and also the ability to work from home.
	At the end of October 2008, 35 percent (39,440) of employees in DWP were on part-time flexible working contracts. In addition there are employees who job share or work from home, either contractually or on an ad hoc basis.

Departmental Data Protection

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether responsibility for data security is assigned at a senior level and included within relevant job descriptions in his Department; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: The Department's Information Security Committee (a sub-committee of the Department's Executive Team) is responsible for information security issues across the Department. Operational responsibility for security is assigned to respective chief executives and heads of businesses. Other senior staff in the Department's agencies have specific responsibilities for promoting data security and report to their respective chief executives. Following the publication of the Cabinet Office's Review of Data Handling Procedures in Government, specific senior civil servants across the Department have been designated as Information Asset Owners who provide assurance to the Department's Senior Information Risk Owner that data assets are properly protected.

Departmental Data Protection

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what independent assurance he has obtained on the adequacy of data security and information governance arrangements across his Department and its associated agencies.

Jonathan R Shaw: Independent assurance on the adequacy of the Department's controls is provided from a range of sources including internal audit reviews conducted in accordance with governance arrangements that are overseen by the Departmental Audit Committee, comprising an independent chair and independent members.
	In addition, new procedures introduced as part of Cabinet Office's review of data handling procedures in Government, have led to the designation of information asset owners—senior staff—who provide assurance to the Department's senior information risk owner on the adequacy of the arrangements for the management of information assets. The departmental security officer, who is independent of the operational management chain, also provides an annual assessment on the prevailing level of security, and the consequent assurance that can be obtained across the broad range of security risks, including those relating to information.
	These assurances, along with other information, will be used to inform the statement of internal control which will be published in the Department's resource account for the year ending 31 March 2009.

Departmental Data Protection

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what formal data owners there are for each dataset held by his Department and its agencies; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: In accordance with the Cabinet Office's report on Guidance on Mandatory Roles: AO, SIRO, IAO (Accounting Officer, Senior Information Risk Owner and Information Asset Owner) published in April 2008, the Department has appointed a Senior Information Risk Owner and Information Asset Owners who will have responsibility for meeting the requirements of the Cabinet Office Data Handling Report.

Departmental ICT

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions with reference to the answer of 26 November 2008,  Official Report, column 1960W, on departmental ICT, 
	(1)  how many individuals have been disciplined over the loss of the items referred to;
	(2)  what steps have been taken to reduce future losses of ICT equipment;
	(3)  how much has been spent trying to recover the missing items referred to;
	(4)  which of the items of ICT equipment recorded as lost or stolen had software protection installed; and if he will make a statement;
	(5)  what assessment he has made of the types of data held on the ICT equipment which has gone missing from his Department since 2001; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: The Department takes very seriously its responsibilities to safeguard personal and other sensitive data. In the last 12 months, a number of major changes have been made in the way that data is handled and stored, especially insofar as items of removable equipment (such as laptop computers and memory sticks) are concerned. Significant improvements have been introduced, including the widespread deployment of encryption.
	The information about lost and stolen equipment, given in response to the question referred to, was obtained from centrally maintained records of security incidents. Detail is not available from these central records to indicate the nature of disciplinary action that was taken in individual cases. Such information could be obtained only at disproportionate cost, given that the bulk of these incidents occurred a number of years ago. However, the Department is currently reviewing its disciplinary policies to better reflect the importance which it attaches to the security of valuable assets and information.
	Following the Cabinet Office review of Data Handling Procedures in Government, the Department has designated senior staff as Information Asset Owners, who are personally accountable for providing assurance in relation to the information assets within their respective business areas. Additional steps taken to reduce future losses include measures which prevent employees from copying information to removable media, except where this has been encrypted.
	Information on the costs of seeking to recover earlier lost or stolen equipment and which of such items had software protection installed is not available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Employment Services: Redundancy

Anne Moffat: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps Jobcentre Plus are taking to assist people recently made redundant back into work.

Tony McNulty: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the acting chief executive of Jobcentre Plus, Mel Groves. I have asked him to provide the hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Mel Groves:
	The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question asking what steps Jobcentre Plus is taking to assist people recently made redundant back into work. This is something that falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Acting Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
	A person who is made redundant and makes a claim to Jobseeker's Allowance is interviewed by one of our Personal Advisers, to explain the help and support available which is then tailored to their individual needs. They are helped to draw up a job plan and Jobseeker's Agreement, which is reviewed fortnightly. Jobseekers can also access job vacancies on our website and our electronic jobpoints, as well as contact our Jobseeker Direct telephone helpline.
	We have also recently introduced a "Finding your way back to work" leaflet to help people understand what help is available, and a "Jobkit" to help those made redundant in preparing to find a new job.
	Where a business announces a number of redundancies we provide our Rapid Response Service to support the employer and employees. This can involve a range of support, such as workplace briefings by Jobcentre staff, skills assessments, and advice on how to look for a new job. The budget for this service was doubled this year, from £3m to £6m, and will be doubled again next year to £12m. This will enable us to deal more effectively with situations involving 20 or more redundancies, or where there is a group of smaller redundancies in one locality.
	We have also announced that more people who are made redundant will get help through Programme Centres. These provide people with different kinds of help such as help in CV-writing and gaining jobsearch skills. Access to Programme Centres was previously restricted to those furthest from the labour market. Advisers will now have the discretion to allow any customers to access this help as soon as they become unemployed. This will be useful for people who have been in work for a long time and have no recent experience of job hunting.
	We are also extending the successful Local Employment Partnerships to provide help for newly redundant people. Through these, Jobcentre Plus is already working successfully with over 13,000 employers, and has helped over 70,000 people into work.

Jobcentre Plus: Closures

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions with reference to the answer of 26 November 2008,  Official Report, columns 1993-4W, on jobcentres, 
	(1)  how many jobcentres were  (a) opened and  (b) closed in each year for which figures are available;
	(2)  for what reasons the number of Jobcentre Plus offices has decreased.

Tony McNulty: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the acting chief executive of Jobcentre Plus, Mel Groves. I have asked him to provide the hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Mel Groves:
	The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your questions asking how many Jobcentres were  (a) opened and  (b) closed in each year for which figures are available, and for what reasons the number of Jobcentres has decreased.
	This is something that falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Acting Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
	I am only able to provide information relating to Jobcentre Plus since its creation in April 2002.
	The table below sets out  (a) the number of newly transformed Jobcentres which have opened since April 2002 and  (b) the number of offices which were open to the public and subsequently closed as part of Jobcentre Plus transformation. The majority of Jobcentre closures since April 2002 are a consequence of that transformation programme with a small number being attributable to service delivery reviews subsequently undertaken by Customer Service Directors.
	
		
			   Transformed Jobcentres rolled out by Jobcentre Plus  Jobcentre Plus offices open to the public and subsequently closed 
			 2002 12 2 
			 2003 257 47 
			 2004 217 95 
			 2005 163 99 
			 2006 142 157 
			 2007 13 49 
			 2008 4 54 
			 Total 808 503 
		
	
	In common with most large, modern organisations the great majority of our services are now delivered through the telephone and internet. For example, to give customers more convenient access, we have more than half a million vacancies on-line at any time (our website receives close to one million job searches every working day), and new claims to benefit are predominantly taken by telephone with some taken on-line. We remain the largest office network in Government with 747 modern Jobcentres which are supported by 31 contact centres and 79 main benefit processing centres. This has brought our customer facing services together in a more coherent and integrated network and I believe Jobcentre Plus is well-placed to respond to the full range of economic conditions.
	I have asked the Customer Service Directors in our Regions to review their service delivery plans for every Jobcentre Plus District in the light of the current economic conditions and welfare reform changes planned for the next two to three years. This exercise will be completed by early 2009. As an immediate measure, I have decided to suspend proposed further Jobcentre closures while the current economic uncertainties exist, which will allow us to increase our capacity to deliver services to those in need of help.

Jobcentre Plus: Finance

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate his Department has made of the budget required for the Jobcentre Plus network in each of the next five years.

Kitty Ussher: The Department's published three year plan is available in the Library and sets out the planned expenditure of Jobcentre Plus over the CSR2007. The Department will publish a revised plan before the end of the current financial year providing further details on future Jobcentre Plus expenditure.

Jobcentre Plus: Manpower

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions with reference to the answer of 26 November 2008,  Official Report, columns 1993-4W, on jobcentres, how many people were employed in jobcentres in each year for which figures are available.

Tony McNulty: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the acting chief executive of Jobcentre Plus, Mel Groves. I have asked him to provide the hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Mel Groves:
	The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question, with reference to the answer of 26 November 2008, Official Report, columns 1993-4W, on Jobcentres, how many people were employed in Jobcentres in each year for which figures are available. This is something that falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Acting Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
	The table shows the number of full time equivalents (FTEs) that have been identified as being employed within Jobcentres each year within the period April 2003 to March 2008. Information prior to April 2003 is not available.
	
		
			   Number of FTE staff in Jobcentres 
			 April 2003 33576.19 
			 March 2004 36080.59 
			 March 2005 40008.09 
			 March 2006 40400.27 
			 March 2007 26028.53 
			 March 2008 27870.67 
			  Notes: 1. Headcount figures are quoted in full-time equivalents using the Office for National Statistics criteria for counting headcount. 2. The figures quoted include all staff who have been identified as being employed within a Jobcentre. It does not include individuals in Social Security Offices or regional/district offices.  Source: Jobcentre Plus Management Information Portal.

Jobseeker's Allowance: Bexley

David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what courses were offered to claimants of jobseeker's allowance in the London borough of Bexley in the last 12 months; and what the cost was per person of each course completed.

Tony McNulty: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the acting chief executive of Jobcentre Plus, Mel Groves. I have asked him to provide the hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Mel Groves:
	The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question asking what courses were offered to claimants of Jobseeker's Allowance in the London Borough of Bexley in the last 12 months and the cost per person of each course completed. This is something that falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Acting Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
	I have enclosed a table which details the courses offered, with a brief description of each course, its duration, delivery location and the cost per customer of completing a course.
	
		
			  Courses available to customers in London Borough of Bexley within last 12 month period—contracted provision 
			  Course  Description  Duration of course  Delivery location  Cost per customer (£) 
			 Programme centres Individually tailored job search for customers six months+ on JSA 13 weeks PDRC Bexleyheath 367.30 
			  
			  Self-employment 
			 Stage 1 Initial assessment One day Bexley JCP 60.20 
			 Stage 2 Completion of business case and preparation for S/E Eight weeks TBA between TNG and customer 354.60 
			 Stage 3 Test Trading 26 weeks TBA between TNG and customer 2,616.75 
			 Independent Assessment Basic skills assessment One day Greenwich Alliance 65.00 
			  
			  New deal programmes 
			 Gateway to Work(1) Job search, advice and guidance, CV preparation. Two weeks CDG Eltham; CDG Greenwich; A4E Woolwich 786.35 
			 New Deal Mentoring One-to-one support tailored to individual needs Fortnightly sessions CDG Greenwich 696.94 
			 Sound Engineering and Music Provision Preparing clients for career in music industry 13 weeks Deptford 1,450.76 
			 Management and Professional Specialist provision for graduates and professional customers 13 weeks CDG Croydon 1,920.17 
			 ESOL Support for clients with very limited English 13 weeks CDG Eltham 3,847.77 
			 Basic Skills Employability Training Basic skills training, career development, work trails and work placements 26 weeks Bromley Field Studies 3,847.77 
			 Numeracy and Literacy Numeracy and literacy training towards qualifications. Work placements and job search 26 weeks CDG Eltham; A4E Woolwich 3,847.77 
			  
			  New deal FTET 18-24 years 
			 Business Administration Tailored learning plans and work placements 13 weeks CDG Eltham 1,717.66 
			 Retail and Customer Service Tailored learning plans and work placements 13 weeks CDG Eltham; CDG Greenwich 1,717.66 
			 Hospitality Tailored learning plans and work placements 13 weeks A4E Woolwich 1,717.66 
			 Security Guard Training Tailored learning plans and work placements. SIA licence 13 weeks CDG Greenwich 1,920.17 
			 Construction and Motor Mechanics Tailored learning plans and work placements. CSCS licence 13 weeks Study Xpress Woolwich 2,122.69 
			 Teaching Assistant(2) Practical training and work placement 20 weeks Twin Training Lewisham 2,643.29 
			 ETF Band C Work placements in occupational areas and job search 13 weeks CDG Greenwich; A4E Woolwich 2,189.49 
			 Horticulture ETF Band C Horticulture skills and duties 13 weeks Bromley Field Studies 2,189.49 
			 VS Band B Admin, Retail, Leisure, Hospitality Work placements and job search in occupational areas 13 weeks CDG Greenwich; A4E Woolwich 2,031.51 
			 VS Band C Management, Health Care and Media Work placements and job search in occupational areas 13 weeks CDG Greenwich; A4E Woolwich 2,189.49 
			  
			  New deal IAP Age 25+ 
			 Business Administration Tailored learning plans and work placements 13 weeks CDG Eltham 2,031.51 
			 Retail and Customer Service Tailored learning plans and work placements 13 weeks CDG Eltham; CDG Greenwich 2,031.51 
			 Hospitality Tailored learning plans, with work placements 13 weeks A4E Woolwich 2,031.51 
			 Security Guard Training Tailored learning plans and work placements. SIA licence 13 weeks CDG Greenwich 2,343.23 
			 Health care and Public Services Tailored learning plans and work placements 13 weeks CDG Greenwich 2,189.49 
			 Horticulture Horticulture skills and duties 13 weeks Bromley Field Studies 2,189.49 
			 Construction and Motor Mechanics Tailored learning plans and work placements. CSCS licence 13 weeks Study Xpress Woolwich 2,343.23 
			 Teaching Assistant(2) Practical training and work placement 20 weeks Twin Training Lewisham 2,643.29 
			 Fork Lift Practical training 13 weeks CDG Greenwich 2,475.77 
			 LGV Driving Cert C Practical training 13 weeks Training in Transport NW10 7AR 3,204.18 
			 LGV Driving Cert CE Practical training 13 weeks Training in Transport NW10 7AR 4,197.67 
			  
			  ESF 
			 Hardest to help(3) Personalised support modules, motivation and confidence building  Outreach at Bexley JCP 1,923.08 
			 Intensive Job search CV and application support  Outreach at Bexley JCP 1,853.96 
			 (1) Available at six months for customers 18 to 24 years and at 18 months for customers 25 years+. (2) Available from September 2008. (3) Available from November 2008.  Abbreviations key: FTET = Full Time Education Training IAP = Intensive Activity Period VS = Voluntary Sector ETF = Environmental Task Force ESF = European Social Fund ESOL = English as a Second language  Providers: CDG: Careers Development Group—New Deal prime contractor. A4E, Bromley Field Studies, Study Xpress, and Twin Training—all subcontractors of CDG. PDRC: Personal Development Resource Centre—programme centre prime contractor.

Maintenance

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many new cases have been brought to the Child Support Agency (CSA) in the last 12 months; and how many of these cases the CSA has started maintenance payments.

Kitty Ussher: holding answer 15 December 2008
	The Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission is responsible for the child maintenance system. I have therefore asked the Child Maintenance Commissioner to write to the hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Stephen Geraghty:
	In reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Child Support Agency, the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Child Maintenance Commissioner.
	You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many new cases were brought to the Child Support Agency (CSA) in the last 12 months; and in how many of these cases the CSA has started maintenance payments.
	The information requested is provided in the attached table and is routinely published in tables 2.1, 2.2 and 2.3 of the Child Support Agency Quarterly Summary of Statistics. The latest version is available in the House of Commons library or online at the following link:
	http://www.dwp.gov.uk/asd/csa.asp
	It should be noted that in July 2008 compulsion to use the Agency was lifted for all new parents with care claiming income based benefits. Prior to this a proportion of new applications received from Jobcentre Plus were in fact change of circumstances to existing cases or are actually closed prior to a maintenance schedule being set up. These applications are included in the attached table.
	As there can be a delay between the time an application has been assessed, and maintenance requested and the receipt of the first payment of maintenance a larger proportion of applications made in recent months will therefore not yet have started payment. The number of applications resulting in a payment for recent months will therefore increase over time, and these figures will be revised in future versions of the Quarterly Summary of Statistics.
	I hope you find this answer helpful.
	
		
			  Number of current scheme applications cleared each month and the number of those that have resulted in a maintenance payment being made 
			  Month  Applications cleared  Maintenance due( 8)  Percentage  Payment received  Percentage 
			 October 2007 29,000 9,300 32 8,200 88 
			 November 2007 29,800 10,000 34 8,900 89 
			 December 2007 20,400 7,000 34 6,200 89 
			 January 2008 27,900 8,800 32 7,900 90 
			 February 2008 30,700 9,300 30 8,300 89 
			 March 2008 27,000 9,000 33 7,900 88 
			 April 2008 28,000 9,200 33 7,900 86 
			 May 2008 26,400 8,500 32 7,300 86 
			 June 2008 30,400 8,900 29 7,400 83 
			 July 2008 31,900 8,100 25 (5)6,400 79 
			 August 2008 (4)20,900 (4)5,100 24 (5)3,200 (5)63 
			 September 2008 (4)15,300 (4)4,200 27 (5)1,500 (5)36 
			  Notes: 1. Applications for the period include all applications from potential non-resident parents or parents with care as well as, for the period to 14 July 2008 all applications from Jobcentre Plus when a parent with care applies for benefits and their details are sent directly to the Agency. Many of these applications are in fact a change of circumstance on an existing case or are closed prior to a maintenance schedule being set up. 2. Applications resulting in a payment include cases both where a payment has been made through the Agency and where a maintenance direct agreement has been arranged between a non resident parent and parent with care. 3. This table consists of information already published in tables 2.1, 2.2 and 2.3 of the Child Support Agency Quarterly Summary of Statistics. 4. From 14 July 2008, new benefit claimants were no longer compelled to use the Child Support Agency. This has resulted in a reduction in the number of applications and potential applications received from Jobcentre Plus and therefore the number of clearances. 5. A significant proportion of applications cleared and which have progressed to payments stage in August and September 2008 will not yet have received the first payment, the number of cases cleared in these months that subsequently receive payment will rise. 6. The figures in this table are a snapshot of the status of cases at the end of September 2008 and are therefore subject to revision. 7. This table counts applications for Child Support. Not all applications become live cases. Information on the number of cases that are progressed clerically is not included in this table. 8. Refers to cases assessed as initially having a positive maintenance liability, which also progress to payment stage, including Maintenance Direct Cases. It does not include cases initially assessed with a positive maintenance liability which are subsequently closed or reassessed as not having a maintenance liability.

Mental Health Services

Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the recommendations relevant to his Department's policy responsibilities made in the Foresight report on Mental Capacity and Well-Being, with particular reference to the costs to the benefits system of those with mental ill-health; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: In general, the Foresight report provided helpful reassurance that scientific evidence supports the welfare reforms the Government are and will be making. More specifically, as chapter 8 sets out, its findings fed into Professor Dame Carol Black's review of the health of the working population of Britain. The Government have accepted her recommendations and will be developing the first ever cross government National Strategy for Mental Health and Employment, which will help us improve work outcomes for people with mental health problems across the spectrum. This will incidentally contribute to benefit savings as well as their health and wellbeing.

Pathways to Work

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much he plans to spend on the Pathways to Work Programme in  (a) 2008-09,  (b) 2009-10 and  (c) 2010-11.

Tony McNulty: holding answer 15 December 2008
	The Department for Work and Pensions has allocated around £1 billion in the Pathways to Work Programme between 2008 and 2011. A breakdown of planned expenditure is in the table.
	
		
			  Pathways to Work planned expenditure 
			   £ million 
			 2008-09 280 
			 2009-10 380 
			 2010-11 380 
			  Notes: 1. Figures provided for 2008-09 are budgeted allocations based on invitations to tender. Actual spend will be reported in due course. 2. Figures provided for 2009-10 and 2010-11 are indicative allocations based on current assumptions and are subject to change.

Pathways to Work: Disabled

Janet Dean: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what provisions are in place for incapacity benefit and employment support allowance claimants participating in Pathways to Work to access specialist disability employment services.

Tony McNulty: Jobcentre Plus offers support to incapacity benefit and employment and support allowance customers participating in Pathways to Work to access specialist disability employment services through the advice and guidance provided by specialist incapacity benefit and employment and support allowance advisers, disability employment advisers in Jobcentre Plus offices and the provider in Provider led Pathways to Work districts.
	These advisers provide support advice and guidance about what services are available, and suitable, for customers and how they can access them.

Pension Credit: Overpayments

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much pension credit has been clawed back by his Department in each  (a) month of 2007-08 and  (b) of the last five financial years; and if he will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: The information in relation to Pension Credit overpayment recoveries for each month in 2007-08 is in the following table:
	
		
			   £ million 
			  2007-08  
			 April 2.3 
			 May 2.2 
			 June 2.4 
			 July 2.4 
			 August 2.5 
			 September 2.5 
			 October 3.2 
			 November 2.9 
			 December 2.4 
			 January 2.5 
			 February 2.5 
			 March 2.2 
			 Total 30.0 
			  Note:  Rounded to the nearest decimal point. 
		
	
	In relation to Pension Credit overpayment recoveries in past years, I refer the hon. Member to the written answer the Minister of State, (Mr. McNulty) gave the hon. Member on 26 November 2008,  Official Report , volume 170, column 2014W .

Social Security Benefits: Arrears

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what his Department's latest estimate is of the effect on its expenditure from changing the backdating period for  (a) pension credit,  (b) council tax benefit and  (c) housing benefit; and if he will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: The proposal to change the allowed length of backdating from 12 months to three months was part of a wider package of pensions measures to increase take up and make benefit processes simpler. Older people will be able to claim pension credit, housing benefit and council tax benefit in one phone call without having to fill in, sign or return any claim forms. This will benefit thousands of pensioners often put off by complicated claim forms and the fear of large amounts of personal information being required. Over the long-term the package results in extra expenditure for pensioners, rising to £250 million per year by 2050.
	For working age people, the Government's response to the Social Security Advisory Committer's consultation report, published on 15 September, recognised arguments presented by the committee on the potential effect of the changes to Housing benefit and council benefit backdating on vulnerable groups and announced that backdating for housing benefit for working age customers will move initially to 6 months rather than three months. Details of the estimated costs and savings associated with the original proposals in the wider package of measures can be found in the SSAC report.

Social Security Benefits: Fraud

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many  (a) males and  (b) females were (i) convicted and (ii) received a custodial sentence in respect of an offence of benefit fraud in (A) each of the last three years and (B) each quarter of each of the last three years; for those people fined, what the average fine was; and how many people were dealt with by way of caution in the same period.

Tony McNulty: Information on housing benefit fraud is not available broken down by either gender or by the number that received a custodial sentence.
	The available information for total convictions, cautions and administrative penalties for housing benefit is in the following table.
	
		
			  Number of convictions, cautions and administrative penalties for housing benefit 
			   Convictions  Cautions  Administrative penalties 
			  2004-05
			 Q1 1,026 1,216 897 
			 Q2 1,238 1,652 1,019 
			 Q3 1,165 1,711 1,184 
			 Q4 1,259 2,070 1,396 
			 Year 4,688 6,649 4,496 
			 
			  2005-06
			 Q1 1,443 1,925 1,264 
			 Q2 1,449 2,327 1,662 
			 Q3 1,542 2,087 1,502 
			 Q4 1,800 3,369 1,771 
			 Year 6,234 9,708 6,199 
			 
			  2006-07
			 Q1 1,409 1,991 1,229 
			 Q2 1,471 2,586 1,645 
			 Q3 1,377 2,569 1,676 
			 Q4 1,477 3,205 1,981 
			 Year 5,734 10,351 6,531 
			  Source: Housing benefit administrative returns supplied by local authorities 
		
	
	For DWP administered benefits, there is no information available prior to June 2007 on departmental systems which provides a break down by gender of convictions, custodial sentences, and court fines.
	This information is now being captured on an individual case basis by the Fraud Referral and Intervention Management System (FRAIMS) which was rolled-out on a region by region basis between June 2007 and February 2008.
	However, this information cannot currently be extracted from FRAIMS at summary level.
	The available information 2005-07 is as follows.
	
		
			  Numbers of convictions, custodial sentences, cautions and administrative penalties for benefit fraud in Great Britain 
			  2005-06  Convicted  Custodial  Cautions  Adpens 
			 Q1 2,055 113 3,025 2,657 
			 Q2 2,024 88 2,488 3,116 
			 Q3 1,789 87 2,607 2,561 
			 Q4 2,235 102 2,423 2,536 
			 Total 8,103 390 10,543 10,870 
		
	
	
		
			  2006-07  Convicted  Custodial  Cautions  Adpens 
			 Q1 1,972 222 3,282 2,773 
			 Q2 1,790 146 3,221 2,771 
			 Q3 1,408 137 2,970 2,325 
			 Q4 1,708 108 2,503 1,941 
			 Total 6,878 613 11,976 9,810 
			  Source: 2006-07 figures are FIBS (Fraud Information by Sector) only. 
		
	
	For 2007-08 the available data are as follows.
	
		
			  Numbers of convictions, custodial sentences, cautions and administrative penalties for benefit fraud in Great Britain 
			  2007-08  Convicted  Custodial  Cautions  Adpens 
			 Q1 *1,729 *216 3,878 2,928 
			 Q2 *1,831 *145 4,242 2,713 
			 Q3 *1,429 *130 3,167 1,902 
			 Q4 *546 *94 1,688 870 
			 Total *5,535 *585 12,975 8,413 
			  Notes: 1. For 2007-08 figures marked with an asterisk ("*") are not yet available from FRAIMS. Therefore, the information for the four quarters represents FIBS data only. Although this information is recorded on individual cases, it cannot be extracted at a summary level. Work is currently being undertaken to enable this to be done. 2. The same applies to providing data on the number of persons being fined following conviction, although it is not envisaged that average fine values will be able to be generated. The amount of fine imposed is a matter for the courts 3. Information has been included in the above tables showing the number of Administrative Penalties issued. 4. Administrative Penalties are used for less serious cases of fraud; those where the overpayment is below £2,000. Formal cautions are designed to correct claimant behaviour by getting them to admit to the offence. Administrative Penalties, which became available through the Social Security Administration (Fraud) Act 1997, give the claimant the opportunity to avoid prosecution by paying a penalty of 30 per cent. of the overpayment, as well as having to repay the overpayment in full.  Source: 2007-08 figures are a combination of FIBS (Fraud Information by Sector) and FRAIMS (Fraud Referral and Intervention Management System) data.

Social Security Benefits: Interviews

Janet Dean: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions which member of staff at Jobcentre Plus offices will carry out a claimant's first work-focused interview.

Tony McNulty: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the acting chief executive of Jobcentre Plus, Mel Groves. I have asked him to provide the hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Mel Groves:
	The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question asking which member of staff at Jobcentre Plus offices will carry out a claimant's first work focused interview. This is something that falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Acting Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
	A Personal Adviser, skilled in dealing with the customer's specific requirements, will carry out a customer's first Work Focused Interview. For example, a lone parent moving from Income Support to Jobseekers Allowance will see a specialist lone parent adviser to take them through the new claims interview. Personal Advisors are well versed in the barriers customers may face when looking for work and they are able to offer appropriate tailored advice.

Unemployed: Voluntary Work

Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what assessment his Department has made of the effects on local communities of the long-term unemployed engaging in voluntary work;
	(2)  what assessment his Department has made of the likelihood of long-term unemployed persons who engage in voluntary work returning to paid work thereafter;
	(3)  what estimate his Department has made of the proportion of the long-term unemployed who have been engaged in voluntary work  (a) since February 2008 and  (b) during the last two years.

Tony McNulty: We do not collect information about voluntary work, aside from when it is done as a mandatory part of a New Deal programme, so we are not able to supply the figures requested.
	The Government believe that voluntary activity can play an important role in helping unemployed people to keep in touch with the labour market. Voluntary work can also provide benefit recipients with skills and experience that may improve their chances of finding paid employment, and can improve social cohesion. However, there must be a proper balance between allowing benefit recipients to pursue voluntary activity, while at the same time encouraging them to retain a clear focus on moving off welfare into paid employment.
	Recent research has looked at volunteering in the context of mandatory options in the New Deals, including "The Longer Term Impact of the New Deal for Young People" (DWP working paper 23, 2008) and changes to benefit rules related to volunteering, "Volunteering and Availability for Work: An evaluation of the change to Jobseeker's Allowance regulations" (DWP working-age research report 190, 2004).
	Copies of these reports are available in the Library.

Unemployment

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps he has  (a) taken since July 2008 and  (b) plans to take in the next 12 months to reduce levels of unemployment; what recent representations he has received about the issue; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: The Government are doing all they can to support people who become unemployed and through Jobcentre Plus and the New Deal we are offering more support to help individuals move back into work as quickly as possible. The pre-Budget report made available to DWP an additional £1.3 billion of funding which will ensure that over the next two years, through Jobcentre Plus and our private and voluntary providers, we not only maintain, but increase, the support we offer.
	We have already doubled the resources available to the rapid response teams who offer advice and support to those affected by redundancy. These funds will be doubled again from April 2009. The support provided by these teams can include information about sources of alternative jobs within the labour market or help with applying for existing vacancies; on-site job shops and fairs; helping people draw-up CVs or brush-up their job search skills; and, where appropriate, job-focused training to help individuals develop skills needed within the local labour market or other support to overcome barriers to taking up a specific job offer, such as travel to work expenses.
	The Government are also increasing their engagement with employers. Through Local Employment Partnerships, Jobcentre Plus is already working with employers across the country to help them meet their recruitment needs locally, and to help long-term unemployed customers find work. As announced in the pre-Budget report, LEPs will now be extended to cover the newly redundant and the Prime Minister will chair a National Employment Partnership comprising major private and public sector employers who will work with the Government to agree what more employers can do to help tackle rising unemployment.
	The publication of the White Paper 'Raising expectations and increasing support: reforming welfare for the future' on 10 December 2008, CM 7506, also demonstrates the Government's commitment to further reform to reduce welfare dependency and support more people into work. There are still many new job opportunities coming up all the time. Last month Jobcentre Plus took an average of 10,000 new vacancies every working day, with many more coming up through other recruitment channels. Together with the advice and support provided through Jobcentre Plus, this means that most of those who become unemployed can find another job quickly; over half of new claimants leave jobseeker's allowance within three months and around three quarters leave within six months.

Vocational Training: Redundancy

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many on-site advice surgeries Jobcentre Plus's rapid response service has held in each region in each year since Jobcentre Plus was established.

Tony McNulty: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the acting chief executive of Jobcentre Plus, Mel Groves. I have asked him to provide the hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Mel Groves:
	The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question asking how many on-site advice surgeries Jobcentre Plus's Rapid Response Service has held in each region in each year since Jobcentre Plus was established.
	This is something that falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Acting Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
	Employees of companies who have accepted offers of Rapid Response Service support are provided with advice through a number of channels including on-site advice surgeries. Figures for the number of on-site surgeries held are not collected.

Vocational Training: Redundancy

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  by what means his Department has informed employers of the existence of Jobcentre Plus's rapid response service since it was established;
	(2)  what steps  (a) Jobcentre Plus's rapid response service and  (b) Jobcentre Plus staff take to identify companies with employees who may benefit from the rapid response service.

Tony McNulty: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the acting chief executive of Jobcentre Plus, Mel Groves. I have asked him to provide the hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Mel Groves:
	The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your questions asking by what means his Department has informed employers of the existence of Jobcentre Plus's Rapid Response Service since it was established and what steps (a) Jobcentre Plus's Rapid Response Service and (b) Jobcentre Plus staff take to identify companies with employees who may benefit from the Rapid Response Service. These fall within the responsibilities delegated to me as Acting Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
	The Rapid Response Service was introduced in April 2002 and has been delivered through Jobcentre Plus in conjunction with a range of partners such as Regional Development Agencies, local authorities and the Learning and Skills Council in England, and equivalent bodies in Scotland and Wales, to help employees facing redundancies. As you know the Secretary of State announced recently an extension of the service.
	Employers are made aware of the service in three main ways. First, Jobcentre Plus is informed by the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform when employers notify redundancies of 20 or more employees. We contact each of those employers to discuss the range of support that Jobcentre Plus is able, with its partners, to offer employees, and to decide which measures will be helpful. Second, we provide information through channels that employers use regularly, including: the Jobcentre Plus website www.iobcentreplus.gov.uk/employers, the websites of organisations who help to deliver the Rapid Response Service to employers and a range of leaflets and business/trade media. Third, some employers receive an account management service from Jobcentre Plus in return for their commitment to helping our individual customers to find work. In that context, employers facing difficulties may discuss their needs directly with Jobcentre Plus and appropriate levels of support will be offered.
	Jobcentre Plus now aims to contact and offer support to every employer which we learn is making 20 people or more redundant. We also make efforts to identify situations where employers are making fewer than 20 people redundant and to offer Rapid Response Service-style support whenever we consider this likely to be the most effective way of helping the people involved.

Iran: Nuclear Power

Dai Davies: To ask the Prime Minister whether he discussed the Iranian state shareholding in the French state Uranium Enrichment Company during the visit of President Sarkozy on 8 December 2008.

Gordon Brown: I discussed a wide range of issue with President Sarkozy. I refer the hon. Member to the press conference I held with President Sarkozy and President Barroso on 8 December. A transcript is available on the No. 10 website at:
	http://www.number10.gov.uk/Page17733
	A copy has also been placed in the Library of the House.

Higher Education: Finance

Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills when the Higher Education Funding Council for England plans to publish its report on means to increase the capacity for teaching Islamic studies.

David Lammy: The Higher Education Funding Council for England have produced the following reports on their work to develop Islamic Studies in the UK—all these reports can be found on their website at:
	www.hefce.ac.uk/aboutus/sis/islamic/
	1. Circular letter 03/2008 provides information about the conference held in April 2008 on Islamic Studies.
	2. Islamic Studies: current status and future prospects: November 2007
	3. Islamic Studies: the way forward in the UK, April 2008
	4. Desk based report: International approaches to Islamic Studies in Higher Education
	5. Islamic Studies: Trends and profiles report September 2008
	6. Sector Impact Assessment of Islamic Studies
	7. Board Paper B93 September 2008 sets out HEFCE's proposals for taking forward the development of Islamic Studies in the UK.
	No further reports are due at this time.

Higher Education: Leeds

John Battle: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many new higher education students in  (a) Leeds West and  (b) Leeds Metropolitan District will receive a maintenance grant in 2008-09.

David Lammy: Reliable information is not available at constituency level.
	In academic year 2007/08, there were 2,520 new university entrants from the Leeds metropolitan district who received a maintenance grant or special support grant.
	Information for the 2008/09 academic year is not yet complete. Students can apply for support up to nine months after the start of their course, and in exceptional circumstances, this limit can be extended. Applications generally take six to eight weeks to process.
	The Statistical First Release published on 28 November shows the provisional number of new students successfully applying for support in England in academic year 2008/09 under the 2008/09 entry regulations reached 278,100 by mid-November 2008. The provisional distribution shows that 40 per cent. of these students received the full maintenance grant of £2,835 and 29 per cent. received a partial maintenance grant. 31 per cent. received no maintenance grant. No specific information is available yet for the Leeds metropolitan district.

Mental Illness

Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what assessment he has made of the recommendations relevant to his Department's policy responsibilities made in the Foresight report on Mental Capacity and Well-Being, with particular regard to life-long learning policy objectives; and if he will make a statement.

Si�n Simon: The Secretary of State was pleased to receive the Foresight report on Mental Capital and Wellbeing on behalf of Government and to oversee progress by Departments in their consideration and uptake of its findings over the coming year.
	Part of that process will involve an assessment of what the report might mean for DIUS policy on life long learning and the Department will report on this in due course.

Research: Standards

Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills 
	(1)  how many institutions assessed in the 2008 research assessment exercise had at least five per cent. of the research activity in one of their submissions rated as  (a) four stars,  (b) three stars,  (c) two stars and  (d) one star; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  if he will make it his policy that the Higher Education Funding Council has as objectives for the distribution of quality-related research funding to universities to ensure that  (a) world leading, internationally excellent and internationally recognised research is funded wherever it has been found and  (b) universities with profiles in research which have received national recognition receive funding.

David Lammy: Of the 159 higher education institutions in the UK that submitted to the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise:
	150 had at least 5 per cent. of their submitted research activity judged to be at the 4* quality level in at least one submission;
	159 had at least 5 per cent. of their submitted research activity judged to be at the 3* quality level in at least one submission;
	159 had at least 5 per cent. of their submitted research activity judged to be at the 2* quality level in at least one submission;
	157 had at least 5 per cent. of their submitted research activity judged to be at the 1* quality level in at least one submission.
	Results for the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise were presented as a quality profile indicating the proportion of research activity in each submission that was judged to reach each quality level.
	These figures show that virtually every higher education institution in the United Kingdom that made a submission in the Exercise has some research activity assessed to be of world leading quality; and all submitting institutions have some research activity that was assessed as internationally excellent. This is a very strong positive verdict on the strength and diversity of the national research base.
	Decisions on allocation of funding arising from the RAE results have not yet been made.

Departmental Correspondence

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many  (a) letters and  (b) e-mails received by his Department had not been responded to as at 15 December 2008.

Ann McKechin: The information requested is as follows:
	 (a) The Cabinet Office, on an annual basis, publishes a report to Parliament on the performance of departments in replying to Members/Peers correspondence. Information relating to 2008 will be published as soon as it has been collated. The report for 2007 was published on 20 March 2008,  Official Report, columns 71-74WS. Reports for earlier years are available in the Library of the House.
	 (b) In respect of emails, this information is not centrally held and is not possible to collect within the disproportionate cost limit.

Armed Forces: Homelessness

Willie Rennie: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate his Department has made of the number of former members of the armed services who were homeless at the latest date for which figures are available.

Kevan Jones: The Department of Communities and Local Government and the Devolved Administrations lead on homelessness policy. They have strategies that recognise veterans issues. The Ministry of Defence does not collect on a national basis data on the numbers of homeless veterans. We have however estimated that the proportion of veterans among the non-statutory homeless population, at least in London, has fallen over the last 10 years. Independent research by the university of York published this year has shown that the proportion of veterans among the non-statutory homeless population in London in 2007 was about 6 per cent. This is a much lower proportion than in the mid-1990s when separate research reported a figure of 20-25 per cent.

Armed Forces: Labour Turnover

Christopher Fraser: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many newly-commissioned officers joined (a) the Army,  (b) the Royal Navy and  (c) the Royal Air Force in each year since 1987.

Bob Ainsworth: The information requested is as follows.
	Officers can become commissioned:
	when they complete training;
	while they are still untrained; or
	on direct entry to the trained strength.
	Newly-commissioned officers can not be derived directly from centrally held records, but the majority of officers become commissioned when they complete training.
	The following table shows the number of officers completing training and joining the trained strength of the UK Regular Forces(1) by Service from 1999-2000 to 2007-08. Prior to 1999-00 this data could not be derived directly from centrally held records.
	(1) UK Regular Forces includes Nursing services and excludes Full Time Reserve Service personnel, Gurkhas, the Home Service battalions of the Royal Irish Regiment and mobilised reservists. It includes trained and untrained personnel.
	
		
			   1999-2000  2000-01  2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08 
			 Naval Service 450 420 400 480 470 420 360 (1)410 (1)300 
			 Army 560 530 540 590 600 640 630 (1)620 1610 
			 RAF(3) 510 520 570 560 570 550 380 (2)450 (2)440 
			 (1) Denotes data is provisional and subject to review (2) Denotes estimated (3) RAF figures for financial years 2006-07 and 2007-08 are estimates derived from the relationship of Untrained to Trained flows with net Gains to Trained Strengths pre the Joint Personnel Administrative (JPA) system.  Note: Numbers are rounded to the nearest 10.  Source: DASA (Quad-Service)

Departmental Data Protection

Shailesh Vara: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what percentage of the IT systems in  (a) his Department and  (b) its agencies are fully accredited to the Government's security standards.

Bob Ainsworth: The Ministry of Defence and its Agencies have several hundred computer systems in use ranging from corporate IT systems serving thousands of users across the Department and its Agencies, to business area systems serving smaller communities. The following data covers those systems within the MOD and its Agencies where accreditation is centrally controlled by Defence Security and Standards Assurance (DSSA), which are either connected to the MOD networks, or are stand alone above Secret, or are systems that contain significant value to the MOD e.g. those systems that contain particularly sensitive or personal data. It does not include those systems where authority for accreditation has been delegated e.g. stand alone systems with no onward connectivity, and where a further breakdown of information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	58 per cent. of systems have been through the accreditation process. Of these, 27 per cent. of systems are classed as fully accredited and are being operated in a manner within the MOD's Senior Information Risk Owner (SIRO)'s risk appetite; 31 per cent. of systems are currently classed as having conditional or interim accreditation with constraints placed on the operation of the system to ensure that identified risks are adequately managed within SIRO's risk appetite.
	The balance of systems (42 per cent.) are in the process of being accredited; this represents the significant workload undertaken to plan and develop solutions for new equipment systems or platforms; this also includes applications from legacy systems, many of which will be migrated onto the developing Defence Information Infrastructure.

Departmental Internet

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how much has been spent on the design and implementation of his Department's website to date; how much is forecast to be spent on the migration of relevant information on websites belonging to the Department of Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform and the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs; when he expects such migration to occur; and if he will make a statement.

Mike O'Brien: The Department of Energy and Climate Change's interim website is hosted by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, and has not required any expenditure by the Department. The Department is in the process of procuring a new website. The process for any content migration that may be required in replacing the relevant parts of other Departments' websites, and any associated costs, are still under consideration.

Departmental Pay

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many people his Department employs who receive a salary of over 100,000 per annum.

Mike O'Brien: The Department for Energy and Climate Change does not employ any staff until it is formally constituted via the Transfer of Functions Order and Parliament votes a supply via the Spring Supplementary Estimate. Details of staff transferring from the Departments for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform are also still being finalised. Until these Machinery of Government changes have been completed, I am unable to answer this question.

Accident and Emergency Departments

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many there were in NHS organisations in England in the most recent quarter since figures are available from his Department's Quarterly Monitoring of Accident and Emergency Services dataset.

Ben Bradshaw: National health service trusts self-report the number of accident and emergency (AE) services they provide against definitions provided by the Department.
	For the quarter ending September 2008, national health service trusts in England self-reported a total of 203 type 1 (major) accident and emergency services.

Care Homes: Yorkshire and the Humber

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many  (a) care homes and  (b) care home places for people suffering from dementia there were in each local authority area in Yorkshire and the Humber in each of the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement.

Phil Hope: We are informed by the Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI) that it does not register care homes according to the number of people from a specific client group, such as those suffering dementia, which they may accommodate. CSCI will register a home as being able to care for at least one person from a particular client group. CSCI is able to produce data from 2004. Information from earlier years is not available centrally.
	The following table shows the numbers of care homes and registered places in each local authority area within the Yorkshire and Humberside region where at least one place in the home is registered as at 15 December 2008 to provide dementia care.
	
		
			  Number of care homes and registered places in Yorkshire and Humberside where at least one place in the home is registered to provide dementia care( 1) 
			  Year ending 31 March   2004  2005  2006  2007  2008 
			 Barnsley Number of care homes 13 16 16 16 15 
			  Total number of registered places in homes (for all client groups) 642 748 748 748 722 
			 Bradford Number of care homes 103 99 99 93 88 
			  Total number of registered places in homes (for all client groups) 3,423 3,350 3,355 3,160 3,063 
			 Calderdale Number of care homes 8 10 10 9 10 
			  Total number of registered places in homes (for all client groups) 329 408 408 385 424 
			 Derbyshire Number of care homes 1 1 1 1 1 
			  Total number of registered places in homes (for all client groups) 60 60 60 60 60 
			 Doncaster Number of care homes 27 27 27 27 26 
			  Total number of registered places in homes (for all client groups) 1,043 1,043 1,047 1,047 1,008 
			 East Riding of Yorkshire Number of care homes 110 105 103 100 99 
			  Total number of registered places in homes (for all client groups) 3,530 3,397 3,434 3,408 3,410 
			 Kingston upon Hull Number of care homes 52 51 51 52 52 
			  Total number of registered places in homes (for all client groups) 1,832 1,826 1,826 1,851 1,876 
			 Kirklees Number of care homes 16 16 16 16 16 
			  Total number of registered places in homes (for all client groups) 715 708 708 739 739 
			 Leeds Number of care homes 45 44 43 42 43 
			  Total number of registered places in homes (for all client groups) 1,905 1,895 1,877 1,871 1,967 
			 North East Lincolnshire Number of care homes 28 27 28 29 30 
			  Total number of registered places in homes (for all client groups) 974 957 984 1,000 1,043 
			 North Lincolnshire Number of care homes 26 28 29 30 31 
			  Total number of registered places in homes (for all client groups) 948 999 1,017 1,043 1,127 
			 North Yorkshire Number of care homes 58 61 60 62 67 
			  Total number of registered places in homes (for all client groups) 2,036 2,173 2,255 2,430 2,753 
			 Rotherham Number of care homes 19 19 19 19 19 
			  Total number of registered places in homes (for all client groups) 1,090 1,090 1,090 1,090 1,090 
			 Sheffield Number of care homes 41 39 41 42 41 
			  Total number of registered places in homes (for all client groups) 2,070 1,997 2,077 2,139 2,099 
			 Wakefield Number of care homes 31 32 32 32 32 
			  Total number of registered places in homes (for all client groups) 1,389 1,409 1,409 1,409 1,409 
			 York Number of care homes 12 11 12 12 10 
			  Total number of registered places in homes (for all client groups) 536 517 597 597 511 
			 Unknown(2) Number of care homes 2 
			  Total number of registered places in homes (for all client groups) 149 
			
			  Total number of care homes 590 586 587 582 582 
			  Total number of registered places in homes (for all client groups) 22,522 22,577 22,892 22,977 23,450 
			 (1) Homes are not registered according to the actual number of places they have for each client group. They indicate which groups they can provide at least one place for. The number of registered places shown is for all client groups homes have informed CSCI they can accommodate as at 15 December 2008. This is because CSCI does not hold historic data for client group registration. (2) Local council data is derived from the postcode of the service. Where post code is not provided the service is recorded as Unknown.  Source:  CSCI database (static cut 02/05/08).

Carers

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what support the NHS national operating framework gives to carers with respite care and funding for short breaks;
	(2)  what assistance is provided by his Department for carers' training; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  how the NHS national operating framework is intended to assist carers; and if he will make a statement.

Phil Hope: The operating framework for the national health service, which sets out the specific business and financial arrangements for the NHS in any given year, first made specific references to supporting carers in the 2008-09 report. The recently published operating framework for 2009-10 goes further. It requires primary care trusts (PCTs) to work with their local authority partners and publish joint plans on how their combined funding will support breaks for carers, including short breaks, in a personalised way.
	150 million will be included in PCTs allocations over the next two years. 50 million will be provided in 2009-10 and 100 million in 2010-11. This money will support all carers.
	The 2006 White Paper 'Our health, our care, our say' announced the New Deal for Carers. It included Caring with Confidence (CwC)a training programme for carers. The first training commenced in August 2008 and distance-training modules will be available from January 2009. It is being run by a consortium led by the Expert Patients Programme and includes the three main carers' organisations (Carers UK, Crossroads and the Princess Royal Trust for Carers) and Partners in Policymaking. 4.4 million per year has been allocated to fund this programme.
	The delivery of CwC will be through existing local providers of serviceswhether from the third or statutory sectors. Local providers have been invited to become part of this delivery process, through a nationally advertised tendering process; from this work CwC will put in place a national network of local providers.

Connecting For Health

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to the answer of 24 November 2008, on connecting for health, what the maximum potential sum for each contract is.

Ben Bradshaw: The maximum potential sum for each of the national programme for information technology core contracts is the total sum payable to the supplier over the lifetime of the contract. This figure for each contract is in the table.
	
		
			  Core contracts 
			million 
			 London 1,021.0 
			 South 1,104.0 
			 North East 1,035.0 
			 East 930.0 
			 North West and West Midland 1,042.0 
			 Spine 889.0 
			 N3 network 530.0 
			 Choose and Book 144.5 
			  Note: 2004-05 prices: reported in The National Programme for IT in the NHS: Project Progress Report' (National Audit Office 16 May 2008)

Departmental Data Protection

Shailesh Vara: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of contractors and suppliers to  (a) his Department and  (b) its agencies have reported that they are compliant with the Government's security standards following publication of the report, Data Handling Procedures in Government, and the accompanying document, Cross-departmental Actions: Mandatory Minimum Action, on 25 June 2008.

Ben Bradshaw: The Department's Senior Information Risk Owner (SIRO) wrote to all Directors in November 2008 requiring them to seek assurance from contractors and suppliers within their area of responsibility that they are aware of, and comply with, the Government's security standards set out in the report, Data Handling Procedures in Government, and the accompanying document, Cross-departmental Actions: Mandatory Minimum Action. The response to this exercise will be recorded in end year assurance statements in March 2009.
	Security and information assurance conditions are available for use by NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency (PASA) and the wider NHS in relevant tendering exercises, i.e. where personal or other confidential information will be used, disseminated or handled by the relevant public body or any third party associated with the contract (including but not limited to ICT contracts). These conditions fully comply with the latest data handling procurement policy guidance published by OGC in November 2008. NHS PASA is in the process of contacting its own suppliers to ensure they are compliant with the Government security standards.
	The Medicines and Healthcare Regulatory products Agency (MHRA) and all its suppliers are compliant with the Government's security standards and the Data Handling Procedures.

Departmental Data Protection

Shailesh Vara: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many contracts  (a) his Department and  (b) its agencies have which allow contractors to store personal data of UK citizens overseas; for which contracts this applies; in which countries the data for each contract is held; and how many people have their data stored overseas in the case of each such contract.

Ben Bradshaw: Neither the Department nor its agencies, the NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency or the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, have any contracts allowing contractors to store personal data of United Kingdom citizens overseas.

Departmental Equality

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what information his Department holds on the  (a) sex,  (b) ethnicity,  (c) age,  (d) disability,  (e) sexual orientation and  (f) religion or belief of its staff; and what assessment he has made of his Department's performance against its targets relating to diversity in its workforce.

Ben Bradshaw: The Department holds workforce data on sex, ethnicity, age and disability and will be collecting data on sexual orientation and religion or belief, which will be available in 2009. This data is used to track progress, on a quarterly and annual basis, against its diversity targets.
	This year the Department has exceeded the Cabinet Office targets for women, black and minority ethnic staff and disabled staff in the senior civil service, apart from those for women in top management posts.

Departmental Freedom of Information

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many requests for information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 have been made to his Department since 2005; how many such requests were  (a) agreed to and  (b) refused in each of those years; how many refusals were subject to appeal to the Information Commissioner in each of those years; how many appeals were successful; if he will place in the Library copies of the material subsequently provided in each case; how much was spent by his Department opposing each appeal; which (i) consultants and (ii) law firms were employed by his Department in connection with each appeal; and if he will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: The following table provides a breakdown of the number of requests under the Freedom of Information Act to the Department since 2005; requests agreed to and refused in each of those years; how many refusals subject to appeal to Information Commissioner in each year; and how many appeals were successful. A copy of the material provided in each successful appeal to the Information Commissioner has been placed in the Library.
	Legal advice on Information Commissioner appeals is provided to the Department by Department of Health Legal Services, which is part of the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) Legal Group. Department of Health Legal Services provides a full range of legal services to the Department of Health including arranging representation in court. The Department has not directly employed consultants or separate law firms in connection with any Information Commissioner appeals. Elements of the Department employ law firms during the course of their business and, as such, may contribute to the Department's handling of ICO appeals. The Department of Health's Connecting for Health and Commercial Directorate use separate lawyers. To extract the component regarding appeals can be achieved only at a disproportionate cost.
	
		
			  Table 1: Freedom of Information Act requests to the Department of Health from Quarter 1 2005 to Quarter 2 2008; requests agreed to and refused in each of those years; how many refusals subject to appeal to Information Commissioner in each year; how many appeals were successful; costs for Department of Health opposing each appeal 
			   Total FOI requests  Agreed  Refused( 1 (table 3))  ICO appeals( (table 7))  Successful appeals( 2) 
			 2005 1,203 (4)708 128 6 0 
			 2006 1,411 (4)929 114 24 2 
			 2007 ((table 8)) 1,286 (4)820 153 18 0 
			 2008 (3)672 (4)201 46 (5) (5) 
			 Totals 4,231 2,658 441 48 2 
			 (1) Includes partially and fully withheld.  (2) Includes upheld in full/upheld in part.  (3) Quarters 1 and 2 only.  (4) Includes granted in full/partially upheld.  (5) To be published in the Ministry of Justice annual report expected in June 2009.   Note:  Data extracted from Annual and Quarterly statistics published by the Ministry of Justice (formerly Department for Constitutional Affairs).

Departmental Public Consultation

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Health on which occasions his Department has convened a citizens' jury or randomly drawn panel of people to aid the Department's policy making since 2000; whether the participants were paid in each case; and if he will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: The Department recognises the important contribution that the public can make in developing policy and carry out a wide range of activities which allow Ministers and officials to listen to and understand the views of the public and stakeholders in developing policy.
	Data from 2000 on the number of citizens' juries and consultation with random panel of people to aid decision-making by the Department is not readily available. Supplying the occurrences of citizens' juries and deliberative consultations would require a substantive investigation into all public engagement programmes undertaken by various divisions within the Department at a disproportionate cost.
	However, we can identify some of the recent major occasions that the Department has convened citizens' juries or consulted random panels of people who were paid since 2000. These include:
	Potential impact of opt-out system for Organ Donation (2008)
	Review into the Consequences of Additional Private Drugs for the NHS (2008)
	NHS Next Stage Reviewled by Lord Darzi (2007-08)
	Primary and Community Care Review (2008)
	Carer's Strategy Consultation (2007-08)
	Your health, your care, your say (2005)
	Choosing Health (2004).

Hearing Aids

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what regulations govern private companies selling hearing aids to people with hearing impairments; and if he will make a statement.

Gareth Thomas: I have been asked to reply.
	Private companies selling hearing aids to people with hearing impediments are regulated by the Hearing Aid Council Act 1968, as modified 1989. The Act makes it a statutory requirement that hearing aids may only be sold by a dispenser who is suitably qualified and who is registered with the Hearing Aid Council (HAC)which was established by the Act to set standards of professional training, performance and conduct for individuals and companies involved in the assessment of hearing loss and subsequent sale of hearing aids in the private sector.
	Following the Hampton Review of Regulators, the Hearing Aid Council is due to be abolished and its regulatory functions transferred to the Health Professions Council (HPC). This is currently due to occur by March 2010.

Hepatitis

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to the answer to the hon. Member for Eddisbury of 6 October 2008,  Official Report, columns 424-25W, on hepatitis, how many drugs were dispensed for the treatment of hepatitis B in each year since 1997  (a) for England in total,  (b) in each strategic health authority area and  (c) broken down by type of drug.

Dawn Primarolo: The following three tables show the number of prescription items dispensed in the community for the treatment of hepatitis B. The information is provided according to the individual British National Formulary (BNF) categories hepatitis B drugs fall within. Figures are split by strategic health authority (SHA) and presented in thousands. The data do not cover drugs dispensed in hospitals, including mental health trusts, or private prescriptions.
	Due to the disclosive nature of the data, it was not possible to present the data by type of drug. As such, data were aggregated to BNF category to maintain some measure of difference between drug type. The SHA totals may not match the England total due to rounding.
	
		
			  BNF paragraph 8.2.4Other immunomodulating drugs 
			  Thousand 
			   Number of prescription items used in the treatment of hepatitis B from BNF section 8.2.4, which were dispensed in the community in England from July 2003 to June 2008( 1) 
			  SHA( 2,3)  2003  Jul-Dec  2004  2005  2006  2007  2008 Jan-S ep 
			 East Midlands 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 (4) 
			 East of England 0.1 0.2 0.2 0.1 0.1 0.1 
			 London 0.1 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.1 
			 North East (4) (4) (4) (4) (4) (4) 
			 North West 0.2 0.2 0.3 0.2 0.2 0.2 
			 South Central 0.1 0.1 0.2 0.1 0.1 0.1 
			 South East Coast 0.2 0.3 0.2 0.1 0.1 0.1 
			 South West 0.1 0.1 0.2 0.1 0.2 0.1 
			 West Midlands 0.2 0.3 0.3 0.2 0.2 0.2 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber (4) 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 
			
			 England 1.0 1.7 1.7 1.3 1.3 0.9 
			 (1) Information at SHA level is only available for the past 60 months. (2) The data have been structured in line with current SHA arrangements. The structure changed during 2006 where the number of SHA reduced. (3) The tables show drugs which may be used to treat hepatitis B, by SHA. (4) Indicates 50 or fewer items were dispensed during the period.  Source: The Prescription Pricing Division of the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA (PPD)) 
		
	
	
		
			  BNF paragraph 5.3.3Viral hepatitis 
			   Thousand 
			   Number of prescription items used in the treatment of hepatitis B from BNF section 5.3.3, which were dispensed in the community in England from July 2003 to June 2008( 1) 
			  SHA( 2,3)  2003 Jul-Dec  2004  2005  2006  2007  2008 Jan-Sep 
			 East Midlands (4) (4) (4) (4) 0.1 0.1 
			 East of England (4) (4) 0.1 (4) 0.1 0.2 
			 London 0.1 0.1 0.2 0.5 0.6 0.5 
			 North East (4) (4) (4) (4) (4) (4) 
			 North West (4) (4) (4) (4) 0.1 0.1 
			 South Central (4) (4) (4) (4) 0.1 0.1 
			 South East Coast (4) (4) 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 
			 South West (4) (4) (4) 0.1 0.1 0.1 
			 West Midlands (4) (4) (4) (4) 0.1 0.1 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber (4) (4) (4) (4) 0.1 0.2 
			
			 England 0.1 0.3 0.5 0.9 1.5 1.4 
			 (1) Information at SHA level is only available for the past 60 months. (2) The data have been structured in line with current SHA arrangements. The structure changed during 2006 where the number of SHA reduced. (3) The tables show drugs which may be used to treat hepatitis B, by SHA. (4) Indicates 50 or fewer items were dispensed during the period.  Source The Prescription Pricing Division of the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA (PPD)) 
		
	
	
		
			  BNF paragraph 5.3.1HIV infection 
			  Thousand 
			   Number of prescription items used in the treatment of hepatitis B from BNF section 5.3.1, which were dispensed in the community in England from July 2003 to June 2008( 1) 
			  SHA( 2,3)  2003 Jul-Dec  2004  2005  2006  2007  2008 Jan-Sep 
			 East Midlands 0.1 0.2 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.3 
			 East of England 0.2 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.8 0.7 
			 London 0.7 1.7 1.9 2.4 3 2.3 
			 North East 0.1 0.2 0.2 0.3 0.2 0.1 
			 North West 0.3 0.5 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.6 
			 South Central 0.1 0.2 0.2 0.3 0.3 0.3 
			 South East Coast 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.4 0.4 
			 South West 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.4 0.3 
			 West Midlands 0.3 0.6 0.6 0.7 0.7 0.6 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 0.1 0.3 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.4 
			
			 England 2.0 4.5 5.1 6.4 7.4 6.0 
			 (1) Information at SHA level is only available for the past 60 months. (2) The data has been structured in line with current SHA arrangements. The structure changed during 2006 where the number of SHA reduced. (3) The tables show drugs which may be used to treat hepatitis B, by SHA.  Source: The Prescription Pricing Division of the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA (PPD))

Influenza

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  with reference to the answer of 14 July 2008,  Official Report, columns 203-4W, on influenza, (1) whether the antiviral stockpile referred to in the answer has now been procured; over what period he intends the antiviral stockpile to be built; and if he will place in the Library a copy of the tender for the procurement;
	(2)  what further consideration his Department has given to a policy of using antivirals for  (a) household and  (b) other prophylaxis;
	(3)  which antibiotics will be needed to treat the bacterial complications of pandemic influenza; when he intends to begin to stockpile those antibiotics; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: Suppliers have responded to the Invitation To Tender for antiviral medicines to increase the stockpile which was published in the  Official Journal in August 2008, and these have now been evaluated. Orders have not yet been placed. For reasons of commercial confidentiality, it is not yet possible to make any announcements on the speed of the stockpile build. I will arrange for a copy of the tender documents to be placed in the Library when public procurement procedures allow.
	There is ongoing discussion at scientific and policy level of antiviral household prophylaxis. For example, the Department has completed modelling which indicates that this is an effective strategy. We have also sought scientific advice on the issue from the Scientific Advisory Group on Pandemic Influenza (SPI), our external scientific advisory committee. This has concentrated on issues such as the size of the stockpile needed and the strategic approach to prophylaxis when the stockpile contains more than one type of antiviral. We are currently considering the delivery implications of a policy based on household prophylaxis, and the procurement approach to be followed. We are not currently considering other forms of prophylaxis.
	Experts from the British Thoracic Society, British Infection Society and Health Protection Agency developed Clinical Management Guidelines for patients with pandemic influenza. These include proposals for antibiotics to be used for the treatment of bacterial complications. The guideline suggests antibiotics active against  Heamophilus influenzae,  Streptococcus pneumoniae and  Staphylococcus aureus the bacteria, which most commonly cause respiratory infections. These include penicillin based products such as co-amoxiclav or a tetracycline such as doxycycline. For those allergic to penicillin, a macrolide such as erythromycin or clarithromycin is recommended. Complications requiring antibiotic therapy would be treated with a cephalosporin such as cefuroxime, which are administered with IV fluids.
	Suppliers of antibiotics have responded to the Invitation To Tender published in the  Official Journal in August 2008. These bids are currently being evaluated.

NHS Foundation Trusts: Governing Bodies

Doug Henderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether his Department plans to extend membership of NHS foundation hospital trusts' boards to members of the public; and whether a timescale has been produced for this policy.

Ben Bradshaw: The constitution of both the board of governors and board of directors of a NHS Foundation Trust is set out in National Health Service Act 2006 schedule 7 sub 7, and sub 15 respectively.
	Requirements for the board of governors include that more than half must be elected by the members, and at least three members must be elected by the staff constituency. One member must be appointed by a primary care trust for which the FT provides services, and at least one member of the board must be appointed by a local authority. If any of the FTs hospitals includes a medical or dental scheme provided by a university, at least one of the board of governors must be appointed by that university. An organisation specified in the constitution as a partnership organisation may appoint a member of the board of governors also.
	There are no plans to extend the membership of boards and therefore no timescale.

NHS: Finance

Desmond Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether local NHS trusts will be allowed to retain any surpluses made this financial year to spend on local health services in future years.

Ben Bradshaw: Any surplus made by an national health service trust in the 2008-09 financial year is retained within their accounts as part of their cumulative income and expenditure reserve.
	The surpluses generated and held locally, are giving NHS organisations much more flexibility to be even more responsive to patient needs, giving clinicians and managers the necessary headroom to better plan for new services and to manage risk.

NHS: Information and Communications Technology

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to the answer of 24 November 2008,  Official Report, column 930W, on NHS: information and communications technology, 
	(1)  what payments have been made to aid with suppliers' capital costs under Connecting for Health and the London Programme for IT;
	(2)  what payments have been made in advance to aid with Fujitsu's capital costs; and what mechanism there is for recouping those payments in the case of work not completed.

Ben Bradshaw: The information requested is in the following table.
	
		
			  Contract  Total forward payments  ( million)  
			 London LSP 333.18 
			 South (Fujitsu) 486.05 
		
	
	Forward payments are repayable on demand in the event of non-delivery.

Obesity: East Riding

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the number and percentage of children under the age of 16 who are clinically obese in the East Riding of Yorkshire PCT area; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: The information is not available in the format requested. Prevalence data on obesity by primary care trust (PCT) is only available for children in two school years. The number of children who are obese is not available.
	Information on the proportion of children that are obese in the East Riding of Yorkshire PCT is collected through the National Child Measurement Programme (NCMP). The NCMP report provides high-level analysis of the prevalence of obese children, in reception year (aged four to five years) and year six (aged 10 to 11 years), measured in England in the school year 2007-08.
	This information is available in the National Child Measurement Programme 2007/08 school year headline results, which was published on 11 December 2008. The prevalence of obese children at PCT level can be found in annex 1: Detailed tables, Table A (pages 31-32). A copy of this publication has already been placed in the Library.

Power Stations: Health Hazards

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make it his policy to issue guidance on any known effects on humans of prolonged residence in proximity to power stations to families who live near such installations; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: The Environment Agency regulates emissions from power stations, which has an important influence on air pollution levels but do not alone lead to local breaches of the air quality objectives in the Air Quality Strategy. There has been no specific study of the health of people living around power stations but the health benefits of reductions in emissions from power stations overall (locally and nationally) have been assessed in reports available on the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs website:
	http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/airquality/publications/stratreview-analysis/index.htm
	Guidance on the health effects of air pollution in general is available on the website of the Committee on the Medical Effects of Air Pollutants:
	http://www.advisorybodies.doh.gov.uk/comeap/statementsreports/healtheffects.htm.
	There have been studies of the incidence of childhood cancer undertaken around nuclear power stations in particular and these have been reviewed by the Committee on Medical Aspects of Radiation in the Environment (COMARE). In its 10th report, it concluded that there was no evidence of excess numbers of cases in any local 25 km area around any of the nuclear power stations:
	http://www.comare.org.uk/press_releases/comare_pr10.htm

Prescription Drugs

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what steps his Department is taking to  (a) ensure equitable payment to dispensing appliance contractors and pharmacy contractors for equivalent services under Part IX of the Drug Tariff proposals and  (b) extend the expensive prescription fee to dispensing appliance contractors;
	(2)  what assessment his Department has made of the competition implications of not extending the same prescription fee structure to dispensing appliance and to pharmacies; and if he will make a statement.

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment his Department has made of the competition implications of not extending the same prescription fee structure to dispensing appliance contractors and to pharmacies; and if he will make a statement.

Phil Hope: A review of the arrangements under Part IX of the Drug tariff for the provision of stoma and urology itemsand related servicesin primary care is currently under way. One of the stated aims of the review is that it seeks to make service provided by and payment provision to dispensing appliance contractors (DACs) and pharmacy contractors more equitable. A number of proposals have been put forward in consultation issued by the Department and extending the expensive prescription fee to DACs has been raised by respondents and will therefore be considered. The consultation closed in September 2008; details of the how this work will progress in light of responses and a final impact assessment will be published in the new year.

Primary Care Trusts: Finance

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health to what proportion of primary care trust revenue allocations for the 2009-10 financial year the health inequalities formula has been applied, with the meaning described on page 28 of his Department's Report of the Advisory Committee on Resource Allocation published 8 December 2008.

Ben Bradshaw: One of Advisory Committee on Resource Allocation (ACRA) objectives is to help to reduce avoidable health inequalities through resource allocation. To achieve this objective, a separate health inequalities formula has been developed which targets funds at the places with the worst health outcomes. This is a more transparent way of contributing towards the reduction in health inequalities through resource allocation, and highlights our commitment to tackling the issue of health inequality.
	ACRA could not determine the proportion of allocations to apply the health inequalities formula to and left it to ministerial decision. Ministers decided to apply the formula to 15 per cent. of the allocations, excluding the mental health component of the formula (which already includes an adjustment for unmet need) and HIV/AIDS. This keeps the distribution of funding between the most and least deprived areas in line with the previous formula.

Primary Care Trusts: Finance

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the written ministerial statement of 8 December 2008,  Official Report, columns 30-8WS, on primary care trust revenue allocations/NHS operating framework, what assessment he has made of the pace of change policy relating to the new resource allocation formula; and in what year he expects primary care trusts will receive an actual revenue allocation equivalent to the target revenue allocation determined by the weighted capitation formula.

Ben Bradshaw: Pace of change policy for the 2009-10 and 2010-11 revenue allocations ensures stability of funding for primary care trusts (PCTs), and allows them to make progress nationally and in local priority areas:
	no PCT will receive less than an average of 5.2 per cent. per year over two years;
	under target PCTs will receive average growth (5.5 per cent.) per year, or above; and
	by the end of 2010-11, no PCT will be more than 6.2 per cent, below its fair share of available resources.
	We are committed to bringing PCTs to their target allocations as soon as is practicable. However, this has to be consistent with all PCTs receiving sufficient extra funding to enable them to deliver on national and local priorities. Pace of change policy for the next round of allocations will be considered in the light of the overall resources available for the NHS.

Social Services

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to ensure that social care needs are met.

Phil Hope: The responsibility for delivery of social care and ensuring that social care needs are met rests with local authorities. The Department provides the policy framework to support local authorities in meeting their statutory requirements.
	Local authorities have reported a continued increase in social care expenditure. Last year (2007-08), provisional data shows that local authorities reported gross current spend on adult social care services was 15.6 billion. This has increased by 85 per cent. over the last 10 years.
	From 2008-11, the Department has committed to contributing over 3.5 billion into adults social care services specific revenue grants and the area based grant (ABGthis enables flexibility for local authorities to make decisions concerning local priorities, of which social care is one, and delivering public services). This is an average increase of over 10 per cent. per year from the Department.
	The Department will continue to work collaboratively with local authorities and their representative bodies, other Government Departments (working across the boundaries of social care, health, housing and employment), service users and other key stakeholders to evaluate the risks and opportunities to support the delivery of social care. The vision for social care is laid down in Putting People First, a copy of which has already been placed in the Library. This document was signed by six Secretaries of State and a range of key stakeholders from local government and partner bodies. The Department is now working with all of these stakeholders to support the delivery of that vision. The Department is investing more than half a billion pounds in developing more personalised care services through the Social Care Reform grant.

Climate Change

Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment his Department has made of its capacity to adapt to climate change; and what plans he has to publish a climate change adaptation strategy.

Shaun Woodward: The Adapting to Climate Change programme is responsible for the co-ordination of the Government's work on adaptation in England. In Northern Irelandas in Scotland and Walesthe devolved administration is responsible for considering how climate change will affect issues such as health, education and planning. However, it is recognised that there is a need to ensure coherence across the administrations, and take a UK-wide approach on issues.
	Therefore the UTC Administrations are committed to working closely together to share best practice and develop initiatives.
	My Department is working in conjunction with the NI Departments in responding to the challenges of climate change. In January 2007 the Scottish and Northern Ireland Forum for Environmental Research published a report entitled Preparing for a changing climate in Northern Ireland. The report examined the ways in which Northern Ireland must prepare to meet both the opportunities and threats presented by the impacts of a changing climate. It focuses specifically on the impacts on, and the need for adaption by, the public sector in Northern Ireland.
	Under the Climate Change Act 2008 Northern Ireland will participate in the development of a UK-wide risk assessment which will help inform the development of a Northern Ireland Adaptation Strategy.

Departmental Data Protection

Shailesh Vara: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what percentage of contractors and suppliers to  (a) his Department and  (b) its agencies has reported compliance with the Government's security standards following publication of the report, Data Handling Procedures in Government, and the accompanying document, Cross-departmental Actions: Mandatory Minimum Action, on 25 June 2008.

Shaun Woodward: The Northern Ireland Office breakdown percentage of contractors and suppliers that have reported compliance to Government requirements is:  (a) the core Department80 per cent.; and  (b) our agencies60 per cent. My departmental officials are working with our contractors and suppliers to ensure they maintain and improve compliance.

Inquiries

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland which legal firms have worked on the Rosemary Nelson Inquiry; for what periods; who each firm represented; how much his Department has spent on legal fees for the inquiry; how much has been spent on the inquiry in each month since it was established; and when the inquiry is expected to report.

Shaun Woodward: I am advised by the Rosemary Nelson Inquiry that the following legal firms have worked on it:
	
		
			  Legal firm  Period of engagement  Representation 
			 Eversheds LLP May 2005 to date Witness statement takers to the Inquiry 
			 Cleaver Fulton Rankin, Solicitors March 2006 to date Legal advice and services 
			 Treasury Solicitors March 2005 to date Legal advice and services 
			 P J McGrory and Co, Solicitors and Advocates September 2005 to date Paul Nelson (Full Participant) 
			 O'Hare Solicitors December 2005 to date Mrs Sheila Magee and family (Full Participant) 
		
	
	In accordance with the Rosemary Nelson Inquiry's published funding protocol, witnesses to the inquiry are also entitled to legal advice at the inquiry's expense and a number of firms have represented witnesses:
	
		
			  Legal firm  Period of engagement 
			 Anderson Kill and Ohck PC Mar 2007 to July 2007 
			 Bindman and Partners June 2006 to date 
			 MSC Daly Solicitors August 2008 to date 
			 Conor Downey and Co, Solicitors August 2008 to date 
			 P Drinan, Solicitor March 2008 to date 
			 Edwards and Co, Solicitors October 2006 to date 
			 Greg O'Neill, Solicitors December 2007 
			 G R Ingram and Co, Solicitors August 2006 to date 
			 McBurney and Company, Solicitors October 2006 to date 
			 McCartan Turkington Breen, Solicitors November 2007 to date 
			 MacDermott and McGurk, Solicitors June 2007 to October 2007 
			 McElhone and Co Solicitors April 2007 to date 
			 Madden and Finucane, Solicitors January 2008 
			 Millar McCall Wylie, Solicitors May 2008 to date 
			 Kevin R Winters and Co, Solicitors June 2006 to date 
		
	
	Some of these firms have represented only anonymous witnesses, some have represented only witnesses seen in public, and some have represented both. For security (to preserve anonymity) and public interest reasons (not all the witnesses of either type have yet been called to give evidence) it is not felt appropriate to release even the names of the 'public' witnesses before the end of the hearings.
	The total cost incurred by the Rosemary Nelson Inquiry for legal fees is 12.57 million.
	The monthly spend of the inquiry is as follows:
	
		
			  Total Resource (000) 
			   2008-09  2007-08  2006-07  2005-06  2004-05 
			 April 348 751 -114 48  
			 May 2,349 596 346 152  
			 June 1,127 622 1,325 443  
			 July 1,271 1,480 470 4  
			 August 863 686 1,337 314  
			 September 1,042 412 669 166  
			 October 1,709 1,085 -180 318  
			 November 1,334 1,238 673 447 38 
			 December  53 399 69 30 
			 January  1,158 1,731 484 46 
			 February  789 2,357 234 121 
			 March  1,308 414 743 283 
			 Total 10,043 10,178 9,427 3,424 518 
		
	
	
		
			  Total capital (000) 
			   2008-09  2007-08  2006-07  2005-06  2004-05 
			 April -2 4 -2 -  
			 May 9 6 1 0  
			 June 0 12 0 80  
			 July 0 -5 0 -80  
			 August 0 10 199 76  
			 September 5 -1 5 0  
			 October 13 19 0 21 0 
			 November -13 7 204 1 0 
			 December  12 440 0 0 
			 January  -19 0 0 0 
			 February  16 145 1 31 
			 March  33 -83 2 3 
			 Total 12 94 909 102 34 
		
	
	The inquiry is expected to report by March 2010.

African Horse Sickness

Ben Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether his Department provides compensation to owners of horses infected with African horse sickness which are destroyed by his Department's veterinary surgeons to prevent further infection.

Jane Kennedy: In the event of an outbreak of African horse sickness, the Animal Health Act 1981 provides for compensation to be paid for equines slaughtered under the Act where they are infected or suspected of being infected with the disease. DEFRA is committed to discussing with the equine industry the issue of compensation, including the appropriate level.
	Where the affected equine has been imported and slaughtered under the Animals and Animals Products (Import and Export) Regulations 2006, there is no duty under the regulations to pay compensation.

Animal Welfare: Codes of Practice

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs which codes of conduct to be issued under the Animal Welfare Act 2006 the Government is currently working on; and which bodies have been appointed to advise on each code.

Jane Kennedy: DEFRA is currently consulting on three draft codes of practice to be made under the Animal Welfare Act 2006cats, dogs and equines. We are also proposing to draft codes on the private keeping of primates and on the rearing of gamebirds for sporting purposes.
	DEFRA has had the assistance and co-operation of the following stakeholders in the preparation of these codes:
	Cat: British Small Animal Veterinary Association, Companion Animal Welfare Council, Feline Advisory Bureau, Pet Care Trust, Peoples Dispensary for Sick Animals, Pet Food Manufacturers Association, Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, and an independent veterinary adviser. Representatives from the Scottish Executive and the Welsh Assembly Government acted as observers.
	Dog: Companion Animal Welfare Council, Blue Cross, Dogs Trust, Kennel Club, Pet Care Trust, Pet Food Manufacturers Association, Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, and an independent veterinary adviser. Representatives from the Scottish Executive and the National Assembly for Wales acted as observers.
	Equine: DEFRA is consulting on a similar code of practice prepared by the Welsh Assembly Government. This code was prepared by Welsh Assembly Government in consultation with a number of horse interest bodies.
	Primates: Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and a combination of animal keepers, dealers, with an interest in primates. Representatives from the Scottish Executive and the Welsh Assembly Government will act as observers.
	Gamebirds: Animal Health, British Association for Sport Shooting, Countryside Alliance, Country Landowners Association, Game Conservancy Trust, Game Farmers Association, League Against Cruel Sports, National Gamekeepers Association, Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and two independent advisers. Representatives from the Scottish Executive and the Welsh Assembly Government will act as observers.

Bluetongue Disease

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what research his Department has evaluated on the transmission of bluetongue disease during animal transit; and what measures he has put in place to inhibit the transmission of the disease.

Jane Kennedy: DEFRA has funded research on bluetongue which includes:
	Studies on midge vectors, including surveys of abundance and seasonality, and biting rates.
	Studies on use of insecticides to control vectors during transport, and the usefulness of housing in protecting livestock.
	This research was used to define vector-free periods, and to provide advice about the conditions of movement licences regarding timing of movements and vector control.
	This work was also used to contribute to the development of a model of bluetongue disease spread within and between farms. Collaborative work between the Meteorological Office and the Institute of Animal Health has resulted in tools to predict vector-borne disease incursions into the UK. This is currently being developed further.
	The default control measures set out in legislation to combat bluetongue are aimed at preventing disease spread (through for example restriction of animal movement and through vector mitigation measures). Broadly, the controls can be summarised as follows:
	Veterinary investigation on suspect premises, and restrictions which includes a ban on movement of susceptible animals on and off the premises.
	On confirmation that bluetongue virus is circulating, restrictions remain in place and are extended to a zone of 20 km radius around the infected premises (IP).
	Wider zone(s) must also be declared setting a protection zone and a surveillance zone (of at least 150 km radius around an IP).
	Movement of susceptible animals out of these zones are banned except under licence (although animals can move freely within those zones) and we must implement surveillance programmes.
	There is some flexibility in demarcating the zones (with Commission agreement), but various factors such as local geography must be taken into account.
	We have an agreed policy for controlling incursions of any new serotypes under the existing UK Bluetongue Control Strategy. This strategy was reviewed recently in light of this year's experience and to address risk from other serotypes, and was published on the DEFRA website on 1 December.
	Details of the Control Strategy are currently available on the DEFRA website. Copies will also be placed in the House Libraries.
	DEFRA continues to urge industry to consider the risks and check the health and vaccination status of animals when sourcing any animals, from within the UK or abroad.

Bovine Tuberculosis

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many cattle have been slaughtered following tuberculosis infection in each of the last five years for which figures are available, broken down by county; what progress his Department's TB eradication group has made; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Kennedy: The information is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Total animals slaughtered under bovine TB control measures in England 
			   2003  2004  2005  2006  2007 
			 Avon 523 567 591 325 436 
			 Bedfordshire 0 0 0 2 0 
			 Berkshire 4 3 2 1 7 
			 Buckinghamshire 43 1 11 21 100 
			 Cambridgeshire 2 0 0 2 0 
			 Cheshire 874 425 248 149 247 
			 Cleveland 2 1 0 4 1 
			 Cornwall 2,494 2,415 3,490 1,697 2,394 
			 Cumbria 275 510 168 114 29 
			 Derbyshire 356 321 608 463 427 
			 Devon 2,767 4,758 6,660 4,471 5,388 
			 Dorset 408 413 450 336 657 
			 Durham 5 3 3 0 11 
			 East Sussex 31 48 58 125 43 
			 Essex 1 0 0 1 0 
			 Gloucestershire 1,926 1,287 2,426 1,506 1,666 
			 Greater LondonEast 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Greater LondonSouth East 0 2 0 0 0 
			 Greater Manchester 2 13 3 3 14 
			 Hampshire 13 17 21 30 94 
			 Hereford and Worcestershire 2,680 2,686 3,698 2,823 2,674 
			 Hertfordshire 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Humberside 1 9 5 27 32 
			 Isle of Wight 1 6 0 0 0 
			 Isles of Scilly 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Kent 4 1 3 10 90 
			 Lancashire 9 4 45 19 44 
			 Leicestershire 82 104 44 90 179 
			 Lincolnshire 4 11 66 23 34 
			 Merseyside 0 0 20 3 0 
			 Norfolk 1 2 0 1 53 
			 North Yorkshire (48) 22 168 69 8 90 
			 North Yorkshire (50) 1 1 2 3 4 
			 Northamptonshire 19 18 26 45 88 
			 Northumberland 27 11 31 28 12 
			 Nottinghamshire 1 17 1 5 4 
			 Oxfordshire 11 15 16 20 149 
			 Shropshire 473 757 856 877 1,128 
			 Somerset 1,051 932 965 915 1,314 
			 South Yorkshire 1 1 0 1 1 
			 Staffordshire 1,205 626 1,297 1,051 1,201 
			 Suffolk 0 2 0 13 14 
			 Surrey 2 10 1 0 5 
			 Tyne  Wear 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Warwickshire 34 47 129 89 154 
			 West Midlands 1 0 1 2 34 
			 West Sussex 15 10 3 11 12 
			 West Yorkshire 0 4 5 3 129 
			 Wiltshire 1,180 1,080 1,113 660 835 
			 Total 17,551 17,306 23,135 16,007 19,794 
		
	
	Data is available from 2003 to 2007. There is no full county breakdown available for this year.
	The TB Eradication Group for England has met twice since the Secretary of State announced the establishment of the group on 3 November. The Group has discussed its work programme and priorities; the scientific evidence provided to the Secretary of State which formed part of the basis for his decision on badger culling; and the possible content of an eradication plan (including a discussion with the European Commission). The Group has also considered proposals for a revised policy on inconclusive reactors.
	The TB Eradication Group's remit includes reviewing the current TB strategy and control measures and developing a plan for reducing the incidence of bovine TB in cattle in England. It will make recommendations to the Secretary of State on the disease and its eradication.

Cereals

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the tonnage of grain for  (a) human consumption and  (b) animal consumption was held in the UK on (i) 1 January, (ii) 1 March, (iii) 1 May, (iv) 1 July, (v) 1 September and (vi) 1 November in the last year for which figures are available.

Jane Kennedy: Grain stocks can be held at various points of the supply chain including farm stores, at ports, various processing facilities and at merchant and distribution stores.
	Stocks held by the main processors, flour millers and maltsters, brewers and distillers are collected and published each month and can be accessed via the following link:
	https://statistics.defra.gov.uk/esg/statnot/statnot.htm.

Compost

Michael Clapham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions the Environment Agency has had with the Health and Safety Executive on its 250 metre buffer zone between windrow composting sites and the nearest residential dwellings.

Jane Kennedy: holding answer 18 December 2008
	The Environment Agency continues to work closely with the Health and Safety Executive on bioaerosols from composting sites. For example, the Environment Agency has recently published a science report based on work carried out by the Health and Safety Laboratories Bioaerosols in waste composting: deriving source terms and characterising profiles (HSL labs). Published December 2008 as Science report SC040021/SR2.

Domestic Waste: Waste Disposal

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs with reference to the answer to the hon. Member for Beckenham of 13 October 2008,  Official Report, column 923W, on domestic waste: waste disposal, how much funding has been given to each local authority from the Behaviour Change Local Fund; and on what date each payment was made.

Jane Kennedy: In response to a previous question from the hon. Gentleman, the hon. Member for Lewisham, Deptford (Joan Ruddock) arranged for a list of local authorities awarded funding to be placed in the House Library on 14 January 2008, as the list was quite lengthy. The position is unchanged as the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) has not made any further payments since January 2008 from the Behaviour Change Local Fund.
	In respect of the timing of such payments, the requested data concerns the detailed operational activities of WRAP and is not therefore held by DEFRA. I understand that the chief executive of WRAP has offered to meet the hon. Gentleman to discuss any issues of concern to him and I would encourage him to take up that offer.

Flood Control

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what plans he has for the 20 million for flood defence expenditure announced in the pre-Budget report;
	(2)  what the evidential basis was for the statement in the pre-budget report that 27,000 homes will be protected from flooding with the help of the 20 million funding announced; and where those homes are located.

Huw Irranca-Davies: Following the Government's announcement that 20 million will be brought forward for flood defence schemes from 2010-11 to 2009-10, an estimated 27,405 households will benefit from new or improved flood risk protection a year earlier than planned.
	Funding will be allocated by the Environment Agency. The exact location of households benefiting will be dependent upon schemes passing the necessary feasibility studies and planning applications, as well as final approval for projects, which will be determined in February 2009. The Environment Agency has issued a list of schemes expected to be brought forward as a result. Copies of the list have been placed in the Libraries of the House.

Food: Contamination

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what research his Department has  (a) commissioned and  (b) funded into the effect of animal disease on food security in the last 12 months.

Jane Kennedy: DEFRA has not commissioned/funded any work specifically into the effect of animal disease on food security. However, we continue to fund research, to the value of 1.6 million annually, on a number of major endemic diseases of livestock, including cattle, sheep, pig and poultry, which seriously affect or are a serious potential threat to livestock production and thus food security. In addition, there is a programme of research, costing in the region of 8 million annually, on exotic diseases aimed at protecting UK livestock from exotic disease incursions.
	One of the ways in which we are able to minimise the effects of animal disease on UK food security is by having a supply of livestock products from a wide range of countries, including the UK, which effectively spreads the risk. Disease outbreaks in the UK or elsewhere in the world affecting our trading partners should see a swift response in trade flows as the market seeks to offset the impacts of any supply disruption.

Members: Correspondence

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when he expects the Minister of State for Farming and the Environment to reply to the letters from the hon. Member for the Forest of Dean of 12 September and 26 November regarding surface water charges.

Huw Irranca-Davies: The matter is still under review and I will respond in full as soon as a final decision is taken.

Veterinary Surgeons Act 1996

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans he has to bring forward proposals to update the provisions of the Veterinary Surgeons Act 1996.

Jane Kennedy: There are currently no plans to update or replace the Veterinary Surgeons Act 1966 (VSA).

Departmental Data Protection

Shailesh Vara: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when her Department appointed a senior information risk owner in accordance with the report, Data Handling Procedures in Government and the accompanying document Cross-departmental Actions: Mandatory Minimum Action; and what grade the person holds within the Department.

Sadiq Khan: The Department already had a senior information risk owner in place at director level. The role was upgraded to board level in March 2008 and is undertaken at director general level.

Alcoholic Drinks: Young People

Dominic Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many retailers have been  (a) prosecuted and  (b) convicted for the persistent sale of alcohol to a person under 18 years in each of the last five years.

Jacqui Smith: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 15 December 2008,  Official Report, column 504W.

Animal Experiments

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of whether the threshold of moderate pain in animal experimentation is being adhered to; how her Department defines moderate pain in relation to animal experimentation; what representations she has received since January 2008 about that definition; and if she will make a statement.

Meg Hillier: The assessment of whether the threshold of moderate pain in animal experimentation is being adhered to is mainly through the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Inspectorate's inspection programme and a selection of reports and published work.
	The severity limits of protocols are defined in Section 5.42 of the Guidance on the Operation of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986. Moderate protocols are defined as:
	Protocols regarded as moderate include toxicity tests (which do not involve lethal endpoints) and many surgical procedures (provided that suffering is controlled and minimised by effective post-operative analgesia and care).
	Protocols that have the potential to cause greater suffering but include controls which minimise severity, or terminate the protocol before the animal shows more than moderate adverse effects, may also be classed within the moderate severity limit.
	We have received no formal representations on this issue since January 2008. Judicial Review proceedings in July 2007 considered four issues relating to the implementation of 1986 Act one of which was on the severity limits for protocols. It was argued that in certain projects the severity limits should have been set at substantial rather than moderate. In its judgment issued on 23 April 2008, the Court of Appeal overturned the High Court's earlier finding that the former Chief Inspector had erred in law in assessing severity limits in the relevant project licence. On this point, the Court found that neither the former Chief Inspector nor the Secretary of State had adopted an erroneous approach to the published Guidance on the Operation of the 1986 Act regarding the assessment of severity limits.
	Furthermore, the Court of Appeal, in upholding our appeal, agreed that the severity limit is determined by the degree of suffering experienced by the animal prior to the point at which it is humanely killed.

Antisocial Behaviour Orders

Dominic Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many anti-social behaviour orders have  (a) been issued and  (b) been breached in each of the last five years.

Jacqui Smith: Data on the number of Antisocial Behaviour Orders (ASBOs) issued and breached in England and Wales are available up 31 December 2006. The available published information is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Number of Antis ocial Behaviour Orders (ASBOs) issued and the number proven in court to have been breached at least once at all courts in England and Wales in each year, 2000( 1) -06 
			  England and Wales  2000- 02( 1)  2003  2004  2005  2006 
			 Issued 914 1,349 3,479 4,123 2,706 
			 Breached(2) 317 565 1,410 2,163 1,801 
			 (1 )From 1 June 2000. (2 )ASBOs breached are counted based on the year the first breach was proven in court.  Note:  Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.  Source:  As reported to the Home Office by the Court Service. Prepared by OCJR Evidence and Analysis Unit.

Antisocial Behaviour Orders: Hampshire

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many anti-social behaviour orders were  (a) issued and  (b) breached in (i) Southampton, (ii) Test Valley Borough and (iii) the ceremonial county of Hampshire in (A) 2006, (B) 2007 and (C) 2008.

Alan Campbell: The number of ASBOs issued at all courts in the Hampshire Criminal Justice System (CJS) area in 2006 was 66 and number proven in court to have been breached in 2006 was 67. ASBOs became available from April 1999, the majority of the 67 ASBOs which were breached in 2006 will have been issued prior to 2006.
	Centrally collected data on the number of antisocial behaviour orders (ASBOs) issued and the number proven in court to have been breached are available up to 31 December 2006 and are not compiled below CJS area level.

Antisocial Behaviour: Young People

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many acceptable behaviour contracts have been issued to young people found drinking and behaving anti-socially in public in each of the last five years.

Alan Campbell: The information requested is not available.
	Acceptable Behaviour Contracts (ABCs) are voluntary agreements and therefore not suitable for central data collection. However, surveys carried out by the Home Office of the Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships (CDRPs) indicated that over 30,000 ABCs have been made since October 2003. The Home Office has issued updated and comprehensive guidance for practitioners on the use of ABCs.

Asylum: Finance

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many unsuccessful asylum seekers were in receipt of section 4 support on 1 November 2008.

Phil Woolas: Information on the numbers in receipt of section 4 support is published on a quarterly basis in the Control of Immigration Quarterly statistical bulletin. The latest published information shows that as at the end of September 2008,10,220 applicants, excluding dependants, were in receipt of Section 4 support.
	Further National Statistics on asylum and immigration are available in the Library of the House and from the Home Office Research, Development and Statistics website at:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration-asylum-stats.html.

Borders: Personal Records

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of the likelihood of compliance by 2009 of charter and leisure operators which serve popular tourist destinations with requirements set under the e-borders scheme for inbound travel documents.

Jacqui Smith: The requirements of e-Borders have been presented to all carriers operating to and from the UK. No distinction is made between 'charter and leisure operators' and scheduled carriers and indeed the majority of carriers operate a mix of both scheduled and charter services.
	In some instances, carriers have stated that they are likely to be unable to discharge their full obligations for data capture and transmission to e-Borders from the planned roll out date. Consequently e-Borders has invested in the creation of a series of transitional technical solutions (valid until the end of 2009) allowing carriers to supply data in a flexible manner that satisfy the requirements of the programme.
	e-Borders is confident that by continuing to work in partnership with the industry and by offering transitional technical solutions the overall compliance rate will be very high.

Borders: Personal Records

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she expects the projected benefits to the leisure and charter industry from the e-borders scheme to begin to flow.

Jacqui Smith: The creation of a safe and secure border is a benefit that will be felt by all of those involved in the travel industry including the travelling public.
	The experience of project Semaphore has clearly demonstrated the value that advance capture and processing of passenger information adds to the safety and security of the United Kingdom by permitting the authorities to intervene in a timely and proportionate manner on those who would seek to do us harm.
	The early capture of such information will be a key enabler for efficient processing of passengers and crew at the UK border and in turn benefit carriers and their passengers in maintaining smooth flow through their ports.

Borders: Personal Records

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what deadlines have been set under the e-borders scheme in respect of  (a) outbound and  (b) inbound travel document information for (i) leisure aviation, (ii) scheduled aviation, (iii) ferries, (iv) international rail, (v) boats, (vi) light aviation and (vii) other sectors.

Jacqui Smith: e-Borders does not distinguish between inbound and outbound data, but rather focuses on individual routes where all carriers operating that route are required to submit data from a specific date, inbound and outbound.
	Regarding the specific modes detailed in the question I can say that the full e-Borders roll out will commence from March 2009 for scheduled aviation and thereafter will be receiving data from all other sectors from 2010. This process will be rolled out across the industry in accordance with the country based roll out plan, with 95 per cent. of the totality of inbound and outbound passengers.

Control Orders

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department with reference to the answer of 3 April 2008 to the hon. Member for North West Cambridgeshire,  Official Report, column 1314W, on control orders, how many individuals are currently subject to control orders; and how many of those are receiving benefits administered by the Department for Work and Pensions, broken down by type of benefit.

Vernon Coaker: In relation to the total number of individuals currently subject to control orders, I would refer the hon. Member to the latest written ministerial statement in relation to control orders which was published on 15 December 2008. This statement explains that, as of 10 December 2008, there were 15 control orders in force.
	The latest information that the Home Office holds shows that eight of the individuals currently subject to control orders are in receipt of benefits that are administered by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). Some individuals are in receipt of more than one form of DWP administered benefit. Of these individuals: two receive incapacity benefit, five receive job seeker's allowance, one receives disability living allowance, two receive income support and two receive child tax credit.

Counter-Terrorism Act 2008

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which  (a) statutory instruments,  (b) departmental circulars and  (c) other documents she plans to issue in the next 12 months consequential on the provisions of the Counter-Terrorism Act 2008; and if she will make a statement.

Vernon Coaker: The Counter-Terrorism Act 2008 received Royal Assent on 26 November 2008.
	Part 5 (terrorist financing and money laundering) and part 6 (financial restrictions proceedings) of the Act came into force on the day after Royal Assent. The Lord Chancellor has made two sets of Rules of Court under section 72 of the Act. They are (i) the Supreme Court of England and Wales Civil Procedure (Amendment No. 2) Rules 2008 (SI 2008/3085) and (ii) the Rules of the Supreme Court (Northern Ireland) (Amendment No.3) 2008 (S.R. (N.I.) 2008, No. 479). Both were laid before Parliament on 2 December 2008.
	Sections 85-90 (costs of policing at gas sites) will come into force, by virtue of section 100(3) (commencement) on 26 January 2009, that is two months after Royal Assent. Following this the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform will make an order designating the National Grid (NTS) as a gas transporter and subsequently they will issue directions to Ofgem and to the gas transporter.
	Section 91 (appointment of special advocates in Northern Ireland) will come into force when section 27 of the Justice (Northern Ireland) Act 2002 (ch.26) comes into force.
	The other provisions in the Act will be brought into force by commencement order.
	The provisions relating to the power to remove documents (sections 1-9) and post-charge questioning (par t 2 of the Act) require the PACE codes of practice to be revised when they are brought into force. Drafts of these revised PACE codes were laid in the House Library during the passage of the Act and they will be consulted upon in the normal way.
	The formal consultation process is likely to be in January 2009.
	In respect of section 28 (which provides UK-wide jurisdiction for terrorism offences) the Lord Advocate and the Attorney-General will set out some of the main considerations that may be relevant to decisions made under this section and this document will be made available in the House Library before the provisions are brought into force.
	In relation to the provisions in Part 4 of the Act (the notification scheme for convicted terrorists) regulations will be made under section 52 (Travel outside the United Kingdom); Rules of Court will be made in relation to notification orders; a standard form for police acknowledgment of notification will be prescribed and regulations may be made prescribing further information that must be notified under the scheme.
	Some of the other provisions in the Act will also require other supporting work to be in place before they may be implemented. Departmental circulars will accompany the commencement orders and other guidance will be issued where appropriate

Crime: Young People

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent steps the Government have taken to reduce levels of youth crime.

Alan Campbell: The Government are committed to driving down youth crime and keeping the communities, including young people themselves safer.
	The vast majority of young people are well behaved and it is a minority we need to focus on, who are responsible for half of all youth crime.
	As well as the Tackling Knives Action Programme (TKAP), the Government have published (15 July) the Youth Crime Action Plan. This is a joint initiative by the Home Office, Ministry of Justice (MOJ) and Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF). The plan sets out a comprehensive cross Government plan to tackle youth crime, with a triple track approach of enforcement and punishment where behaviour is unacceptable, non-negotiable support and challenge where it is most needed, and better and earlier prevention. It will deliver an extensive and comprehensive package of measures for children, young people and families that is backed by 100 million of funding to help prevent young people from getting involved in crime.
	The 100 million is being used for:
	extra investment in all areas of England to support families with the most entrenched and complex problems;
	an intensive programme of action for priority areas where problem of youth crime is greatest; including taking unsupervised young people off the streets at night and requiring young people to complete community service on Friday and Saturday nights; and
	guidance of recommended approaches to reducing youth crime for these areas that they can tailor to their local needs, achieving the right balance between enforcement action to tackle the problems on our streets and prevention measures to ensure future generations do not make the same mistakes.
	There is already a great deal of work going on across Government to tackle youth crime and anti social behaviour. Positive Futures programme is a national sports based social inclusion programme which is funded by the Home Office in partnership with the Football Foundation.
	The programme aims to have a positive influence on young people's lives through widening their horizons and providing access to new opportunities by using sport, art and leisure activities as a catalyst to encourage project participation and steering young people towards education, training and employment.

Human Trafficking

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what arrangements are in place to deal with people who are identified as having been trafficked.

Maria Eagle: I have been asked to reply.
	The Ministry of Justice and the Home Office jointly funds the Poppy project to provide specialist, high-level support to victims of human trafficking for sexual exploitation. Victims are provided with a 30 day reflection period, accommodation, advocacy support, access to counselling, interpretative services, access to immigration legal advice, resettlement support and a range of other services to meet their individual needs. The Poppy project also has outreach team. This year the Government piloted support services for victims trafficked into domestic servitude and forced labour.
	We ratified the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings on 17 December 2008 and will come into force in April 2009. This will see the introduction of a 45 day minimum reflection period and one-year temporary residence permits, both of which will be extendable in certain circumstances. We will also introduce a national support service model with an increased number of supported accommodation places.

Human Trafficking: Children

Dominic Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether  (a) the use of safe accommodation at the Poppy Project is available for children who are victims of human trafficking and  (b) there is safe accommodation providing 24 hour care for trafficked children.

Jacqui Smith: The POPPY project was established exclusively to support and accommodate adult women who have been trafficked for sexual exploitation and does not therefore accommodate child victims.
	When a child is identified as a victim of trafficking, a full assessment is made of their circumstances and needs by a social worker as required by section 20 of the Children Act 1989. If on the basis of this assessment, the child is unaccompanied and there is no suitable adult to take responsibility for their care; or the child appears to be lost or abandoned, then there will be a presumption that the child will need to become a looked-after child. Where it is judged that the child would be best looked after under foster care or in a children's home, then 24-hour care will be provided.

Immigration: Appeals

Rob Marris: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the average length of time taken following an immigration appeal tribunal hearing was to  (a) notify in writing the decision to the applicant and  (b) send written notification of indefinite leave to remain to successful applicants in the latest period for which figures are available.

Phil Woolas: Information produced by the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal (AIT) shows that in the period April to November 2008 the average length of time taken following an Immigration Judge hearing to notify in writing the decision to the applicant was seven working days (for all case types including bails).
	For the same period, the average waiting time from hearing date to notifying the applicant of the decision in reconsideration hearings was 13 working days.
	Following promulgation of the decision all in country and out of country non asylum decisions are served by the AIT. In country decisions are deemed to be received within 48-hours, and out of country decisions within 28-days. All asylum determinations are sent to UKBA to serve within 28-days in accordance with the 2005 AIT Procedure Rules. On 15 October 2008 a new process to serve initial Regional Asylum Team determinations by post on receipt from the AIT was implemented. Determinations are served on the appellant/representative within 48-hours of being received. This process saves a significant amount of time and speeds up the Asylum process.
	Information on the average length of time taken following an immigration appeal tribunal hearing to send written notification of indefinite leave to remain to successful applicants is not available. This could only be obtained at disproportionate cost by examination of individual case records.

Members: Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she will reply to the letter to her of 20 October from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mrs Naseem Ahmed.

Jacqui Smith: I wrote to the hon. Member on 8 December 2008.

Members: Correspondence

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she will reply to the letter from the right hon. Member for Maidenhead of 23 October regarding her constituent Ms Ali.

Phil Woolas: The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Meg Hillier) wrote to the right hon. Member on 9 December 2008.

Members: Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she plans to reply to the letter to her dated 30 October 2008 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mr Sehir Hussain.

Jacqui Smith: I wrote to the hon. Member on 22 December 2008.

Members: Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she plans to reply to the letter to her dated 3 November 2008 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mr Luis Lamb.

Jacqui Smith: I wrote to the hon. Member on 6 January 2009.

Members: Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she plans to reply to the letter to her dated 28 October 2008 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mr . Benmeddah.

Jacqui Smith: I wrote to the hon. Member on 5 January 2009.

Members: Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she plans to reply to the letter to her dated 7 November 2008 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mr Hidal Ibrahim Takroori.

Jacqui Smith: I wrote to the hon. Member on 5 January 2009.

Oakington Immigration Removal Centre

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many detainees  (a) with and  (b) without a criminal condition there are in Immigration Removal Centre Oakington.

Jacqui Smith: Oakington removal centre holds up to 408 detainees, foreign national ex-prisoners make up on average around one quarter of the centres population. Local management information shows that on 14 December 2008 there were 103 foreign national ex-prisoners in Oakington.

Olympic Games 2012: Security

James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she expects to publish her estimate of the likely security costs arising from the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Vernon Coaker: My right hon. Friend the then Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport announced on 15 March 2007 that the overall budget for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games included a 600 million envelope of provision for policing and wider security. This is on top of the ODA budget for security of 354 million and the provision that LOCOG has set aside for in-venue security. An additional 238 million will be made available for contingency if required. Work is continuing to finalise the security strategy and plans within these funding estimates.

Police: Bureaucracy

Dominic Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment has been carried out of the effect on the amount of police paperwork of moving responsibility for charging decisions from police forces to the Crown Prosecution Service under the statutory charging initiative.

Jacqui Smith: Although no specific assessment has been carried out on its impact on police paperwork, a full independent evaluation of the pilot exercise identified a number of significant benefits of statutory charging for the criminal justice system at large, including the police service.
	One of the main benefits of the scheme is the early dialogue between a police officer and a duty prosecutor. This consultation enables those cases that are evidentially weak, which can not be strengthened to meet the Code for Crown prosecutors, to be stopped there and then. Under previous arrangements these cases would have entered the court system. A costly and often ineffective exchange of correspondence between the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and police would follow in an attempt to obtain evidence to support the individual case. A high percentage of these cases were then discontinued later in the process, often after several court appearances and after the police had expended additional and unnecessary effort in trying to obtain evidence.
	A further benefit has been the improved relationships between police and CPS from close partnership working that has enabled them to better manage other linked initiatives including the Criminal Justice Simple, Speedy Summary (CJSSS) and the Streamlined Process that have improved case management and reduced delay in the courts.
	There are several other benefits to the police. Dialogue with a Duty Prosecutor enables borderline and more complex cases to be strengthened, and police officers can be directed at that point to supply only what is really required in terms of the evidence needed to support the case. The original business case for statutory charging also points
	to further benefits for the police through the potential to enhance the police skills base in dealing with evidential issues as a result of early dialogue with the CPS. The business case predicted that around 238,000 cases per annum would be charged by the CPS and a further 20,000 would be stopped at the point of charge. The benefits to the police in the original business case for statutory charging were estimated to be 6.5 million based on this prediction of caseload.
	In practice the benefits to the police are far greater than this. With 550,000 cases now being considered by the CPS each year, the number of cases that are stopped at the point of charge which fail to meet the code test was 160,000 during 2007-08 which provides substantially more benefit to the police than was originally estimated in the business case.
	The Government take all aspects of police bureaucracy very seriously and we continue to keep the implications of the charging process, in respect of the amount of paperwork involved, under close review.
	I have now appointed Jan Berry as our national independent advocate for achieving reductions in police bureaucracy. I have asked her to identify and examine a number of key policing processes and to make recommendations on how these could be reformed to reduce the amount of paperwork generated for officers. The impact of statutory charging on police paperwork is within the scope of Jan Berry's work.

Police: Essex

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many  (a) police officers and  (b) civilian staff of each age group and sex were employed by Essex Police and its predecessor bodies in (i) 1979, (ii) 1989, (iii) 1999 and (iv) each year since 2001.

Vernon Coaker: The available data are given in the following tables.
	
		
			  Table 1: Police officer strength (FTE)( 1)  for Essex police Force as at 31 March 
			  As at 31 March each year  Female officers  Male officers 
			 1979 202 2,259 
			 1989 250 2,496 
			 1999 477 2,414 
			 2001 468 2,419 
			 2002 512 2,433 
			 2003 590 2,417 
			 2004 669 2,451 
			 2005 728 2,502 
			 2006 787 2,535 
			 2007 860 2,480 
			 2008 906 2,479 
			 (1) Full-time equivalent figures that have been rounded to the nearest whole number. Because of rounding there may be an apparent discrepancy between totals and the sums of constituent items. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Police staff strength (headcount) for Essex police force as at 31 March( 1) 
			  As at 31 March each year  Female staff  Male staff 
			 1999 972 429 
			 2001 1,064 510 
			 2002 1,147 568 
			 2003 1,219 625 
			 2004 1,342 722 
			 2005 1,416 750 
			 2006 1,407 763 
			 2007 1,346 773 
			 2008 1,406 784 
			 (1) Data available from 1998 onwards. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 3: Provisional numbers of Essex police force officers by age band (headcount)( 1)  as at 31 March( 2) 
			  As at 31 March each year  25 and under  26 to 40  41 to 55  Over 55 
			 2003 353 1630 1046 11 
			 2004 406 1696 1048 15 
			 2005 460 1719 1080 19 
			 2006 483 1766 1105 20 
			 2007 517 1592 1267 21 
			 2008 528 396 1290 32 
			 (1) Provisional data that have not been validated by force. Totals may not match those published elsewhere. (2) Data available from 2003 onwards. 
		
	
	
		
			  T able  4: Provisional numbers of Essex police force staff by age band (headcount)( 1)  as at 31 March( 2) 
			  As at 31 March each year  25 and under  26 to 40  41 to 55  Over 55 
			 2003 203 614 722 307 
			 2004 250 674 742 398 
			 2005 235 678 768 485 
			 2006 277 674 757 462 
			 2007 235 606 785 509 
			 2008 252 633 786 543 
			 (1) Provisional data that have not been validated by force. Totals may not match those published elsewhere. (2) Data available from 2003 onwards.

Police: Medals

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department for what reasons the Police Long Service Medal requires longer qualification service than other equivalent long service medals awarded to military or civilian personnel.

Vernon Coaker: The Police Long Service and Good Conduct Medal (PLS and GCM) was the first UK civilian emergency service long service medal introduced (Fire 1954, Ambulance 1996 and Prisons 2008) and therefore, when it was instituted, the qualification period was not at variance with any other existing civilian emergency service long service medal. It should be noted that the award criterion varies for all these medals, with some not including a good conduct element and others requiring that a considerable period of front-line duty is served, in order to qualify. Military long service medals relate to different service criterion and work patterns to civilian medals and therefore any comparisons to civilian equivalents would be inappropriate.

Police: Moldova

Anthony Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  if she will establish an exchange programme between the UK and Moldova police to improve co-operation to reduce serious organised crime;
	(2)  if she will make arrangements with her Moldovan counterpart for regular bilateral consultations to implement the provisions of the 2001 Memorandum of Understanding between the UK and Moldova.

Alan Campbell: holding answer 16 December 2008
	SOCA undertakes limited but productive bilateral co-operation with its counterparts in Moldova. This co-operation is underpinned by a Memorandum of Understanding on Co-operation in the fight against Serious Crime, Organised Crime, Illicit D Drug Trafficking and In Like Matters of Mutual Interest, of 17 January 2001, signed by ACPO, HM Customs and Excise, Serious Fraud Office, the Crown Prosecution Service of England and Wales, the National Crime Squad and the National Criminal Intelligence Service. SOCA has assumed the interests and responsibilities of the last two agencies following its establishment in 2006.
	SOCA welcomes any opportunity to improve its collaboration with overseas partners.

Terrorism: Detainees

Dominic Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 9 December 2008,  Official Report, column 37W, on terrorism: detainees, with what offences the individuals held for over 14 days and then charged were charged; and how many  (a) have been convicted,  (b) offences have been acquitted and  (c) remain subject to trial.

Jacqui Smith: To date 11 individuals have been held over 14 days. Eight of these individuals were charged.
	 14-15 days
	One individual charged with having information about an act of terrorism (section 38B, Terrorism Act 2000). This case was subsequently dismissed by a judge due to insufficient evidence.
	 18-19 days
	One individual charged with conspiracy to cause explosions (section 3 (1a), the Explosives Substances Act 1883).
	 19-20 days
	Three individuals charged with conspiracy to murder (section 1 (1), Criminal Law Act 1977) and Preparation of Terrorist Acts (section 5, Terrorism Act 2006). The latter charge has subsequently been amended by the Crown Prosecution Service for two of the individuals to a charge of conspiracy to commit an act of violence likely to endanger the safety of an aircraft (section 1(1), Criminal Law Act 1977).
	 27-28 days
	One individual charged with preparation of terrorist Acts (section 5, Terrorism Act 2006).
	One individual charged with preparation of terrorist Acts (section 5, Terrorism Act 2006), possession of a prohibited weapon (section 5(1), Firearms Act 1968), possession of ammunition (section 1 (1b), Firearms Act 1968), possession of a silencer without a firearms licence (section 1 (1b), Firearms Act 1968). The charge of preparation of terrorist Acts for the second individual was subsequently amended by the Crown Prosecution Service to a charge of conspiracy to commit an act of violence likely to endanger the safety of an aircraft (section 1(1), Criminal Law Act 1977).
	One individual charged with attending a place for instruction or training in terrorism (section 8, Terrorism Act 2006) and collection of information (section 58 (1) (a), Terrorism Act 2000).

Terrorism: Detainees

Dominic Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 9 December 2008,  Official Report, column 37W, on terrorism: detainees, with what offences the individuals held for between 27 to 28 days and not released without charge were charged.

Jacqui Smith: To date 11 individuals have been held for over 14 days, three were charged on the 27-28 day.
	One individual charged with preparation of terrorist Acts (section 5, Terrorism Act 2006).
	One individual charged with preparation of terrorist Acts (section 5, Terrorism Act 2006), possession of a prohibited weapon (section 5(1), Firearms Act 1968), possession of ammunition (section 1 (1b), Firearms Act 1968), possession of a silencer without a firearms licence (section 1 (1b), Firearms Act 1968). The charge of preparation of terrorist Acts for the second individual was subsequently amended by the Crown Prosecution Service to a charge of conspiracy to commit an act of violence likely to endanger the safety of an aircraft (section 1(1), Criminal Law Act 1977).
	One individual charged with attending a place for instruction or training in terrorism (section 8, Terrorism Act 2006) and collection of information (section 58 (1) (a), Terrorism Act 2000).

Thames Valley Police

Robert Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the crime clear-up rates for  (a) violence against the person,  (b) robbery,  (c) burglary in a dwelling,  (d) theft of a motor vehicle and  (e) theft from a vehicle were in the Thames Valley police area in each of the last 10 years, broken down by basic command unit.

Alan Campbell: The available information is given in the following table. Data at Basic Command Unit level (BCU) is only available from 1999-2000 and the BCUs within the Thames Valley police force area were re-structured in 2005-06. In addition, detection rates data are subject to wide variation where small numbers are involved.
	Non-sanction detections that contribute to detection rates have fallen in recent years reflecting a significant shift by many forces away from recording detections of crime where no further action is taken. For this reason overall detection rates over time are not fully comparable.
	From 1 April 2007 the rules governing recording of non-sanction detections were revised to reduce the scope within which they can be claimed to a very limited set of circumstances.
	
		
			  Clear up rates for selected offences recorded in the Basic Command Units in Thames Valley 
			  Percentage cleared up 
			   1999-2000  2000-01  2001-02  2002-03( 1)  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08 
			  Violence against the person  
			 Aylesbury Vale 83 73 72 59 57 52 n/a n/a n/a 
			 Berkshire East n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 53 45 41 
			 Berkshire West   54 45 44 
			 Buckinghamshire n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 59 49 46 
			 Chiltern Vale 68 63 67 58 56 52 n/a n/a n/a 
			 Milton Keynes 73 77 72 68 48 57 64 50 45 
			 Northern Oxfordshire 74 79 79 79 70 64 n/a n/a n/a 
			 Oxford 62 74 73 61 52 54 n/a n/a n/a 
			 Oxfordshire n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 62 55 47 
			 Reading and Wokingham 52 60 61 50 39 43 n/a n/a n/a 
			 Slough and District 70 63 66 58 37 46 n/a n/a n/a 
			 Southern Oxfordshire 60 74 76 67 58 56 n/a n/a n/a 
			 Thames Forest 70 70 66 57 55 51 n/a n/a n/a 
			 West Berkshire 90 90 83 64 61 59 n/a n/a n/a 
			  Robbery  
			 Aylesbury Vale 36 44 22 31 37 23 n/a n/a n/a 
			 Berkshire East n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 17 19 16 
			 Berkshire West n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 29 19 18 
			 Buckinghamshire n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 21 16 16 
			 Chiltern Vale 27 20 31 34 30 31 n/a n/a n/a 
			 Milton Keynes 25 23 26 34 25 33 21 17 23 
			 Northern Oxfordshire 29 48 49 52 26 27 n/a n/a n/a 
			 Oxford 25 30 30 33 28 26 n/a n/a n/a 
			 Oxfordshire n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 28 28 27 
			 Reading and Wokingham 16 22 22 26 25 23 n/a n/a n/a 
			 Slough and District 24 16 19 19 16 13 n/a n/a n/a 
			 Southern Oxfordshire 23 45 32 44 43 39 n/a n/a n/a 
			 Thames Forest 25 22 31 29 27 30 n/a n/a n/a 
			 West Berkshire 26 38 43 37 30 21 n/a n/a n/a 
			  Burglary in a dwelling  
			 Aylesbury Vale 21 17 16 21 12 10 n/a n/a n/a 
			 Berkshire East n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 16 19 9 
			 Berkshire West n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 13 13 13 
			 Buckinghamshire n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 17 13 7 
			 Chiltern Vale 14 8 14 13 16 11 n/a n/a n/a 
			 Milton Keynes 16 19 20 18 12 24 13 20 8 
			 Northern Oxfordshire 22 21 19 21 14 14 n/a n/a n/a 
			 Oxford 19 26 32 28 18 36 n/a n/a n/a 
			 Oxfordshire n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 24 17 18 
			 Reading and Wokingham 14 11 16 16 13 17 n/a n/a n/a 
			 Slough and District 11 22 19 17 12 10 n/a n/a n/a 
			 Southern Oxfordshire 17 16 40 21 22 16 n/a n/a n/a 
			 Thames Forest 12 14 17 19 14 12 n/a n/a n/a 
			 West Berkshire 20 24 18 22 18 23 n/a n/a n/a 
			  Theft of a motor vehicle  
			 Aylesbury Vale 17 22 25 19 14 20 n/a n/a n/a 
			 Berkshire East n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 16 11 12 
			 Berkshire West n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 12 11 16 
			 Buckinghamshire n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 12 16 12 
			 Chiltern Vale 8 14 13 16 16 13 n/a n/a n/a 
			 Milton Keynes 12 25 27 21 14 15 16 12 23 
			 Northern Oxfordshire 18 23 26 30 21 24 n/a n/a n/a 
			 Oxford 10 20 22 48 22 24 n/a n/a n/a 
			 Oxfordshire n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 31 20 20 
			 Reading and Wokingham 8 11 14 13 16 14 n/a n/a n/a 
			 Slough and District 8 8 15 16 11 14 n/a n/a n/a 
			 Southern Oxfordshire 15 17 23 23 13 24 n/a n/a n/a 
			 Thames Forest 16 15 15 23 15 13 n/a n/a n/a 
			 West Berkshire 18 20 16 18 22 20 n/a n/a n/a 
			  Theft from a vehicle  
			 Aylesbury Vale 12 14 4 4 5 27 n/a n/a n/a 
			 Berkshire East n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 8 6 5 
			 Berkshire West n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 4 3 6 
			 Buckinghamshire n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 12 7 6 
			 Chiltern Vale 3 4 4 3 12 5 n/a n/a n/a 
			 Milton Keynes 9 6 17 11 6 10 4 7 8 
			 Northern Oxfordshire 7 10 7 6 11 10 n/a n/a n/a 
			 Oxford 5 16 35 16 17 13 n/a n/a n/a 
			 Oxfordshire n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 11 9 10 
			 Reading and Wokingham 2 3 4 5 4 6 n/a n/a n/a 
			 Slough and District 2 3 4 11 3 9 n/a n/a n/a 
			 Southern Oxfordshire 7 6 8 6 8 6 n/a n/a n/a 
			 Thames Forest 3 7 13 18 18 18 n/a n/a n/a 
			 West Berkshire 5 7 7 4 4 12 n/a n/a n/a 
			 n/a = not available (1) The National Crime Recording Standard was introduced in 2002-03. Figures before and after that date are not directly comparable.

UK Border Agency: Working Hours

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many UK Border Agency (UKBA) enforcement operations have taken place on Saturdays or Sundays in each month of 2008, broken down by each UKBA region.

Phil Woolas: The UK Border Agency adopts an intelligence-led approach to operations. The number of UK Border Agency enforcement operations that have taken place on Saturdays or Sundays in each month to end September 2008, broken down by each region of the UK Border Agency is detailed in the following table.
	The data provided is management information. It may be subject to change and does not represent published national statistics.
	
		
			   Saturday/Sunday operations by month, 2008 
			  Command  January  February  March  April  May  June  July  August  September  Total 
			 London and South East (L and SE) 193 161 212 28 34 56 76 45 26 831 
			 Midlands and Eastern (M and E) 40 33 39 7 8 14 10 15 9 175 
			 North East (NE) 33 23 22 7 16 22 8 13 5 149 
			 North West (NW) 32 14 24 8 11 12 6 10 8 125 
			 Scotland and Northern Ireland (S and NI) 10 11 14 12 11 11 8 14 5 96 
			 South West and Wales (SW and W) 0 2 2 5 4 0 6 0 0 19 
			 Total 308 244 313 67 84 115 114 97 53 1,395 
			  Note: All data is sourced from the National Operations Database (NOD) or Crime Management Information (CMI) system. The NOD/CMI is a management information tool and data from it is not quality assured under National Statistics protocols. Figures provided from the NOD/CMI do not constitute part of National Statistics and should be treated as provisional.

Bank Services

John Battle: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent estimate he has made of the number of people over the age of 18 years who do not have a bank account; and if he will make a statement.

Ian Pearson: The Government are committed to reducing financial exclusion and increasing the number of people who can manage their money by using a bank account.
	The Family Resources Survey data for 2006-07, published in June this year, shows that the number of adults living without access to a bank account fell from 2.8 million in 2002-03 to 2.1 million in 2006-07.

Bank Services: Small Businesses

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent steps the Government have taken to aid banks in providing capital to businesses.

Ian Pearson: On 8 October 2008 the Government announced a comprehensive package of measures to support stability of the financial system, protect ordinary savers, depositors, businesses and borrowers, and to safeguard the interests of the taxpayer.
	As part of its investment, the Government have agreed a range of commitments with banks accessing the recapitalisation scheme. The Government expect banks to restore and maintain the availability and active marketing of competitively priced lending to SMEs, at a level at least equivalent to that of 2007, until the end of 2011.
	UK Financial Investments Limited (UKFI), which is wholly owned by the Government, will also oversee the conditions attached to subscribing to the Government's recapitalisation fund, including in relation to SME lending.
	British small businesses should also be able to benefit from around 4 billion of lending from the European Investment Bank (EIB) between 2008 and 2011. As announced in the pre-Budget report in November 2008, after negotiations between UK banks and the EIB, 1 billion of EIB funds were approved by the end of last year to be available to British small firms. The Government continue to work with UK banks and the EIB on the use of EIB loans to deliver the most effective support to small firms with sound business propositions. It is a condition for banks participating in the Government's recapitalisation scheme to seek EIB Loans for SMEs.
	Furthermore the Government announced a package of support to help smaller businesses at the Pre-budget report 2008. This package included the establishment of the Small Business Finance Scheme, an Export Credits Guarantee Department scheme, and the equity or quasi-equity capital fund. When combined this package will facilitate over 2 billion of extra support to SME's experiencing short-term financial difficulties.

Banks: Iceland

Jo Swinson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps have been taken to ensure that loans to Iceland from the European Union and International Monetary Fund are used to compensate UK depositors in Icelandic banks; and if he will make a statement.

Ian Pearson: holding answer 16 December 2008
	I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Carmarthen, East and Dinefwr (Adam Price) on 26 November 2008,  Official Report, column 1880W.

Banks: Taxation

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate his Department has made of the amount of tax avoided by British banks through offshore tax regimes in the last 12 months.

Stephen Timms: No estimates have been made in the past 12 months of the tax gap attributable to offshore tax regimes. In March 2008, HMRC released details of some analysis from 2005 that attempted to derive estimates of the direct tax gap at the start of the decadesee
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/research/direct-tax-gaps.pdf.
	This included a very broad brush estimate of the tax gap associated with the use of offshore accounts.

Departmental Data Protection

Shailesh Vara: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many contracts  (a) his Department and  (b) its agencies have which allow contractors to store personal data of UK citizens overseas; for which contracts this applies; in which countries the data for each contract is held; and how many people have their data stored overseas in the case of each such contract.

Angela Eagle: The Treasury has one supplier that stores personal data abroad. The contractor provides travel agency services under a pan-Government framework owned by OGCbuying.solutions and the data is stored in the USA under a safe harbour agreement.
	The Debt Management Office holds one contract that it manages on behalf of the Treasury, which allows the storage of personal data of UK citizens overseas. This contract is for the Gilt Registration Service and states that personal data must be kept within the European Economic Area (EEA). Currently all this data is stored within the UK.

Departmental Energy

Gordon Banks: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps his Department is taking to reduce the amount of energy it wastes.

Angela Eagle: The Treasury is committed to improving energy efficiency of the Department's estate and reducing energy use year on year. Measures taken over the last year that have led to improvements in energy efficiency include adjustment of lighting system controls, switching to daytime cleaning reducing need for lighting after hours, and adjusting the temperature when heating is turned on.
	Detailed information on the Treasury energy consumption by building can be found in HM Treasury annual report 2007-08.

EU Budget

Bob Spink: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make it his policy to reduce the level of the UK's net contribution to the EU budget until the level of UK debt is reduced to below the average of EU countries; and if he will make a statement.

Ian Pearson: The Government are committed to radical reform of the EU budget, including the common agricultural policyas set out in Global Europe: vision for a 21(st) century budget published on 19 June 2008.

Members: Correspondence

John Butterfill: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he will reply to the letters from the hon. Member for Bournemouth West of 13 October, 3 November and 11 December 2008 in respect of his constituent Mr Ian Wilson and deposits with Icelandic banks.

Ian Pearson: The Treasury regrets the delay in replying to the hon. Member and hopes to be in a position to do so shortly.

Personal Records: Databases

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many staff of each grade in his Department have access to electronic databases containing personal information relating to members of the public resident in Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland constituency.

Angela Eagle: The information requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Public Expenditure

Roger Williams: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what discussions he has had with Ministers at the  (a) Department for Transport,  (b) Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform and  (c) Department for Communities and Local Government on bringing forward publicly-funded capital works commissioned by these departments.

Angela Eagle: Treasury Ministers and officials have meetings with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery. As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Government's practice to provide details of all such meetings.

Public Finance

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer with reference to table B4 of the Pre-Budget Report, on the fiscal balances compared with Budget 2008, what the figures for the cyclically-adjusted  (a) surplus on the current budget and  (b) net borrowing are as a percentage of potential gross domestic product for each year.

Yvette Cooper: I refer the right hon. Member to the answer provided on to him on 15 December 2008,  Official Report column 435-36W.
	Cyclically adjusted fiscal aggregates are published as a percentage of forecast GDP not potential GDP.

Redundancy: Dartford

Howard Stoate: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps he is taking to support employees in Dartford facing redundancy in the near future.

Stephen Timms: HM Treasury is working closely with the Department for Work and Pensions to take steps to ensure that individuals facing redundancy are helped to move swiftly into a new job. The recent pre-Budget report announced measures which build on the support Jobcentre Plus already has in place. The package included the expansion of Jobcentre Plus' rapid response service to target both small and large-scale redundancies, the extension of Train to Gain to provide new training to people before they are made redundant, and the launch of a National Employment Partnership.
	The PBR also announced that Jobcentre Plus Regional Ministers will work with regional development agencies to develop plans for co-ordinated responses to large-scale redundancies, as soon as they are notified. Meeting the economic challenges in every region, published alongside the 2008 pre-Budget report, outlined the Government's response to support regions and localities, and sets out how regional partners are working together to focus on meeting the pressing challenges of their regions. More information on the actions that the South East of England Development Agency is taking to meet current economic challenges in the South East can be found at:
	www.seeda.co.uk

Tax Allowances: Rented Housing

Tim Loughton: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he plans to raise the tax free threshold under the rent-a-room scheme.

Stephen Timms: There are no plans to raise the tax free threshold under the rent-a-room scheme.

Tax Avoidance

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of levels of tax evasion among white-collar workers; and what steps his Department has taken  (a) to recover revenue from taxes which have been evaded and  (b) to reduce levels of evasion.

Stephen Timms: There are no figures available for the levels of tax evasion by white collar workers.
	The Government are committed to ensuring that the tax system operates fairly and efficiently and clamping down on those who try to cheat the system through evading taxes continues to be a priority. HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) risk assess tax returns against their own and third party information and will open an inquiry into those cases where they believe there is a risk of tax evasion.
	HMRC continues to improve its approach to tackling evasion. It has made improvements to the identification of evasion through investment in a risk capability and a single referral and escalation mechanism across the taxes. This is underpinned by the recent change in HMRC powers which extends real-time inspection of records to direct taxes as well as a new penalty regime to help deter evasion.

Taxation: Carers

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer with reference to the Answer of 26 November 2007,  Official Report, column 128W, on care vouchers, if he will place in the Library a copy of  (a) the modelling his Department has undertaken of the scheme and  (b) the work carried out on its cost effectiveness.

Ian Pearson: The Government set out their assessment of the care voucher scheme in the answer to which the hon. and learned Member refers.

Bangladesh: Elections

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what progress has been made towards free and fair elections in Bangladesh; and if he will make a statement.

Bill Rammell: The Chief Election Commissioner of Bangladesh has announced that the national election will take place on 29 December. The parties have now submitted their nominations for the election. International observer missions are now in Bangladesh.
	The caretaker Government have announced that the state of emergency will be lifted on 17 December. The people of Bangladesh are looking forward to choosing a new government.

British Council: Pakistan

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when it was decided to close the Library of the British Council in Lahore, Pakistan; what assessment was made of the contribution it made to understanding of the UK and the West in Pakistan; and if he will bring forward plans to reopen the Library.

Caroline Flint: As a result of the events of 11 September 2001, and due to the deteriorating security situation, all public-access British Council premises in Pakistan were closed in 2002.
	The library in Lahore was an essential part of the British Council Pakistan's offer to young people helping them to establish a relationship with the UKat a time when the internet was non-existent. The British Council has continued to engage with local customers by increasing the availability of on-line and phone services while at the same time reducing the vulnerability of its staff and customers.
	The security environment in Pakistan, coupled with the British Council's emphasis on partnerships and online working mean they have no plans to reopen any libraries in Pakistan.

Burma: Politics and Government

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment the Government have made of the political situation in Myanmar.

Bill Rammell: The military regime in Burma is determined to maintain its hold on power regardless of the cost and suffering of its people. The junta's 'Roadmap to disciplined democracy', including a new constitution and elections planned for 2010, is designed to entrench military rule behind a facade of civilian government. The process excludes the opposition and meaningful participation by the ethnic groups.
	Fundamental rights are consistently ignored.
	Since early November, over 200 pro-democracy activists have been given sentences of up to 65 years in prison. These severe sentences are clearly designed to silence all dissent ahead of the 2010 elections. There are now over 2,200 political prisoners in detention, including opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, and other pro-democracy leaders. Ethnic minority groups have been methodically marginalised. Against this backdrop, we will continue to do all we can to generate international pressure for a peaceful transition to democracy and respect for human rights in Burma. In particular, we will continue to give our full support to the UN Secretary General and his efforts to break the current deadlock.

Colombia: Armed Forces

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what expenditure his Department has incurred on providing training to members of the Colombian armed forces in each year since 2000.

Gillian Merron: UK bilateral training and engagement on human rights and humanitarian demining, which is largely funded by the joint Foreign and Commonwealth Office/Department for International Development/Ministry of Defence) conflict prevention pool, has cost the following approximate amounts:
	
		
			
			 2000-01 (1)3,500 
			 2001-02 (1)49,000 
			 2002-03 (1)34,000 
			 2003-04 120,000 
			 2004-05 120,000 
			 2005-06 130,000 
			 2006-07 190,000 
			 2007-08 190,000 
			 2008-09 (2)190,000 
			 (1) Denotes information that is incomplete. (2) Denotes estimated spend. 
		
	
	As well as bilateral projects, the UK supports projects running through several UN agencies including the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, and the UN Office of Drugs and Crime, that will provide training to more than 2000 serving men and women.
	These figures do not include training given in the field of counter narcotics. We do not disclose details of this engagement, as to do so would endanger the security of the UK and Colombian personnel involved, and undermine the effectiveness of that work.

Cyprus: Armed Forces

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of reports of the Turkish navy preventing survey ships operating on behalf of the Republic of Cyprus in Cyprus's exclusive economic zone carrying out their work; what representations he has made on this matter; and if he will make a statement.

Caroline Flint: While we have made, and continue to make, our expectations and views clear to Turkey, we continue to urge restraint as further escalation at this time would be very counter-productive.
	As a signatory to the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, the Republic of Cyprus is within its rights to explore for oil and natural resources within its territorial waters and exclusive economic zone. We hope an early solution to the Cyprus problem will allow all Cypriots to benefit from Cyprus' mineral wealth, and the UK supports all efforts to that end.
	I shall continue to follow all developments, and remain committed to supporting efforts to finding a solution in Cyprus.

Cyprus: Community Relations

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what estimate he has made of the extent of building on Greek Cypriot owned land in north Cyprus by people other than that land's lawful owners; what assessment he has made of the effects of such building on prospects for a settlement in Cyprus; and if he will make a statement.

Caroline Flint: The British Government are concerned at the continuing appropriation of, and construction on, Greek Cypriot owned land in northern Cyprus. Our high commission in Nicosia regularly raises the issue of property development with the Turkish Cypriot leadership. We believe that the difficult and complex issue of property is only likely to be fully resolved in the context of a comprehensive settlement, and I remain committed to doing everything I can to support progress towards the settlement process. I continue to urge both sides to show the political will and flexibility to bridge the gap between words and deeds, and to engage constructively with the UN's efforts to broker a comprehensive and durable settlement.
	In our contacts with the Turkish Cypriot leadership, we recognise the Turkish Cypriots' need for economic development in support of reunification. However, we urge them to ensure that any property development which does take place does so in a manner that both respects the environment and does not complicate an eventual solution.

Cyprus: Community Relations

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make representations to the appropriate authorities on behalf of the enclaved Maronite community in the north of Cyprus  (a) to enable them to visit the church of Agla Marina,  (b) for permission for them (i) to ring the church bell at Asomatos village and (ii) to visit the church freely and (c) for restoration of the monastery of Prophetis Elias; and if he will make a statement.

Caroline Flint: The Government are aware of the difficulties faced by the Maronite community in Cyprus in accessing their villages of origin, including the villages of Agia Marina and Asomatos, and consequently in religious expression in those villages. We are also aware of the need for greater preservation of churches and other buildings of religious and cultural heritage in these villages, and throughout the northern part of Cyprus. We supported the Council of Europe's resolution concerning the protection of national minorities in Cyprus adopted on 9 July 2008, which called for
	additional measures to support the revitalisation and promotion of the cultural, religious and linguistic heritage of the Maronites.
	We have also called for an early implementation by the leaders of both the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities of the sixteen confidence building measures that they announced on 25 July 2008, three of which relate to the issue of cultural heritage. Ultimately, these issues occur as a result of the political situation on the island, and will only be fully resolved by a comprehensive settlement to reunite the island. We will continue to engage with the leaders of the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities to support progress towards a settlement.

Gambia

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Gambian authorities on the case of David and Fiona Fulton; and if he will make a statement.

Gillian Merron: Consular staff in the Gambia have been providing consular assistance to Mr. and Mrs. Fulton and their daughter. Mr. and Mrs. Fulton have been visited several times. They have legal representation and consular staff are in regular contact with their legal representative.
	We are making farther inquiries in relation to their case. In order to establish whether representations may be appropriate.

Tibet

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received of the outcomes of the eighth round of talks between the representatives of the Chinese government and the Tibetan government-in-exile; and if he will make a statement.

Bill Rammell: The first session of the special general meeting took place in Dharamsala 17-22 November 2008. In total 560 participants from 19 different countries attended. The meeting agreed a number of recommendations, a summary of these is available at:
	http://www.tibet.net/en/index.php?id=546 articletype=flashrmenuid=morenews
	I issued a statement on the conclusion of the talks on 24 November. I welcomed the renewed commitment from the Tibetan exile movement to pursue a sustainable solution to the underlying issues in Tibet through dialogue with China and non-violent means. I also said that I believed that some of the proposals put forward by the Tibetan side prior to the last, round of dialogue should provide a basis for substantive discussions, focussed initially on identifying points of agreement.

UN Cyprus Committee on Missing Persons

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the annual budgetary requirement of the UN Cyprus Committee on Missing Persons is; how many sets of human remains of  (a) Greek Cypriots and  (b) Turkish Cypriots the Committee has (i) recovered, (ii) identified and (iii) returned to relatives; how many sites the Committee has (A) investigated and (B) excavated; how many sites remain to be investigated; how much the Government has provided for the work of the Committee in each of the last four years; which other countries and organisations have provided for in each of the last four years, and how much in each case; if he will consider making further funds available to meet the Committee's budgetary requirements; and if he will make a statement.

Caroline Flint: The annual budget requirement for 2009 is $3m. So far 466 bodies have been exhumed of which 352 are Greek Cypriot, 104 Turkish Cypriot and 10 sets of remains whose details have yet to be determined.
	Of the exhumed bodies, 110 have been identified and returnedof which 78 are Greek Cypriot and 32 Turkish Cypriot.
	The Committee have excavated more than 200 grave sites, out of which less than half yielded remains. There are no figures for the number of sites which are still to be investigated - mapping out the grave sites is an ongoing task carried out by both the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot members of the Committee of Missing Persons (CMP).
	The level of UK donations over the last four years has been:
	
		
			  US$ 
			 2004 50,000 
			 2006 86,257 
			 2007 23,041 
		
	
	A full list of donations is:
	
		
			  Donors  Status  Date  Amount in currency  Amount in USD( 1) 
			 United Kingdom Donation November 2004 US$50,000 US$50,000 
			 Cyprus Donation November 2005 CY 60,000 US$138,249 
			 Germany Donation December 2005 100,000 US$134,409 
			 Greece Donation January 2006 CY 29,999 US$69,122 
			 Greece Donation January 2006 CY 20,000(2) US$46,083 
			 Turkey Donation January 2006(3) US$ 100,000 US$ 100,000 
			 Cyprus Donation February 2006 CY 70,000 US$ 161,290 
			 United Kingdom Donation April 2006 CY 37,435.50 US$ 86,257 
			 Turkish Cypriots Donation May 2006 CY 71,119.35 US$ 163,869 
			 Cyprus Donation June 2006 CY 70,000 US$161,290 
			 Cyprus Donation July 2006 CY 200,000 US$460,829 
			 Turkey Donation September 2006 US$ 87,000 US$ 87,000 
			 Spain Donation November 2006 100,000 US$134,409 
			 Ireland Donation November 2006 50,000 US$67,204 
			 Belgium Donation February 2007 250,000 US$ 336,022 
			 European Commission Donation July 2007 1,500,000(4) US$ 2,016,129 
			 United States Donation April-October 2007 US$ 135,000(5) US$ 135,000 
			 United Kingdom Donation May 2007 CY 10,000 US$23,041 
			 Turkey Donation July 2007 US$50,000 US$50,000 
			 United States Donation July 2007 US$ 411,570(5) US$ 411,470 
			 Cyprus Donation October 2007 Mechanical digger + parts US$ 102,677 
			 Australia Donation October 2007 AU$10,000 US$ 8,000 
			 Ireland Donation December 2007 50,000 US$.73,600 
			 Netherlands Donation January 2008 250,000 US$.372,123 
			 Cyprus Grant February 2008 165,600 US$ 244,922 
			 Greece Donation July 2008 100,000 US$.155,000 
			 Cyprus Donation September 2008 Excavator + 2 4X4 trucks US$ 131,484 
			 Spain Donation November 2008 50,000 US$64,683 
			 Germany Donation December 2008 100,000 US$129,366 
			 Ireland Donation December 2008 50,000 US$64,683 
			 TotalUS$6,178,211 
			 (1) As per UN applicable exchange rate at the time of the donation. (2) Donated directly to the Cyprus Institute of Neurology and Genetics (CING) in Nicosia for CMP-related work. (3) US$ 50,000 donated directly to the Turkish Cypriot DNA laboratory at Dr. Burhan Nalbantolu Hospital in Nicosia and US$ 50,000 donated directly to the Turkish Cypriots to carry out exhumation in the north. (4) Contribution to the CMP Project granted as part of the Council Regulation (EC) No 389/2006 establishing an instrument of financial support for encouraging the economic development of the Turkish Cypriot community and amending Council Regulation (EC) No 2667/2000 on the European Agency for Reconstruction, with the agreement of the Turkish Cypriot community. (5) Donated by the US Agency for International Development (USAID) via the United Nations Development ProgrammeAction for Co-operation and Trust (UNDP-ACT) programme in Cyprus. It permitted the construction of the CMP Family Viewing Facility, located next to the CMP anthropological laboratory, inaugurated on 18 March 2008for the second donation, see website of the US embassy in Nicosia 
		
	
	We have not yet made a final decision as to whether or not to make further donations to meet the Committee's budgetary requirements.

Western Sahara

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs with reference to the answer of 25 November 2008,  Official Report, column 1214W, on Western Sahara: politics and government, whether he has discussed with the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights the Government's position on human rights monitoring in the Western Sahara.

Bill Rammell: I have had no recent discussions on human rights monitoring in Western Sahara withthe UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
	The UK strongly supports UNHCR's activities in Western Sahara as elsewhere. The UK continues to believe that the resolution of humanitarian questions should not await the conclusion of a political settlement. The UK, along with EU partners, has called on Morocco and the Polisario to deal with outstanding human rights issues and implement measures that will increase people's confidence.
	I understand the High Commissioner will visit the region early next year and wish her a successful visit.

A303

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport for what reasons the proposed works to the A303 are not to be carried out in a manner that leaves one direction open to traffic; and if he will review the proposed working arrangements.

Paul Clark: Maintenance work on the single carriageway section of the A303 between Willoughby Hedge and Mere is essential because of the increasing number of road defects requiring immediate attention, together with the poor condition of existing drainage systems.
	Single lane working was considered by the Highways Agency but was not pursued because of concerns about road worker safety, duration of the works and likely traffic delays.
	Following the agency's public information days and stakeholder consultation, the agency has decided that a 14 week closure of the A303 is not the best way to effect the essential maintenance works required on the A303 Willoughby Hedge to Mere. The agency is currently undertaking a full review of the scheme, which will include the construction programme, the extent and type of works and the need to reduce the impact and inconvenience of this work to road users and the general public.

Aviation: Exhaust Emissions

Paul Beresford: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport with reference to the answer of 19 November 2008,  Official Report, columns 480-81W, on aviation: exhaust emissions, 
	(1)  whether his forecast was based on an assumption that the growth of aviation after 2030 will be limited by capacity constraints;
	(2)  what capacity constraints are likely to limit the growth of aviation in the UK after 2030;
	(3)  what the figures would be if it were assumed that between 2030 and 2050 aviation were to continue to grow at the same rate as forecast up to 2030.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Department for Transport's UK Air Passenger Demand and CO2 Forecasts 2007 report explains that forecast growth in air passenger demand will be limited by UK airport capacity constraints (page 11), and by the maturing of the air travel market (page 19).
	The same report, page 36, shows the terminal and capacity assumptions used in the forecasts. By 2050, it is forecast that all modelled airports in the South East and some others elsewhere in the UK will become capacity constrained.
	The 2003 Air Transport White Paper supported the building of two new runways in the South East. On this basis, assuming that the pre-2030 growth rate continued to 2050 would not present a feasible view of the world post-2030, and therefore the Department for Transport does not have a CO2 emissions forecast based on these assumptions.

Bus Services: Schools

Paul Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what his Department's policy is on the placement of bus stops for school transport alongside dual carriageways; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what guidance his Department provides to local authorities on the road safety aspects of the placement of bus stops for school transport; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Clark: The Department for Transport provides general guidance on bus stop provision, including road safety considerations, in chapter 8 of Local Transport Note 1/97: Keeping Buses Moving. This is available on the Department for Transport website at
	www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/roads/tpm/ltnotes/.
	The guidance does not provide specific advice on the placement of bus stops for school transport.
	Decisions on placement of bus stops are a matter for the local highway authority in consultation with bus operators and other interested parties such as the police.

Departmental Energy

Gordon Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps his Department is taking to reduce the amount of energy it wastes.

Geoff Hoon: The Government's Delivery Plan for 'Sustainable Procurement and Operations on the Government Estate', published in August 2008, provides a full account of the initiatives departments are taking to reduce their energy waste. The Government have committed to updating the delivery plan on a six monthly basis, and the first of these updates was published on 18 December 2008.

Departmental Furniture

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much was spent by his Department on furniture made by  (a) British firms,  (b) Remploy and  (c) overseas firms in each year since 2000.

Geoff Hoon: The Department for Transport was formed in May 2002. The Department has spent 45,787,332 on furniture with British based firms, 31,250 with Remploy and 257,204 with overseas firms since 2002. The breakdown is as follows:
	
		
			   Sector  Spend () 
			 2002-03 British Firms 4,064,176 
			  Remploy 0 
			  Overseas Firms 0 
			
			 2003-04 British Firms 11,511,281 
			  Remploy 27,222 
			  Overseas Firms 0 
			
			 2004-05 British Firms 13,539,857 
			  Remploy 4,028 
			  Overseas Firms 0 
			
			 2005-06 British Firms 5,935,787 
			  Remploy 0 
			  Overseas Firms 257,204 
			
			 2006-07 British Firms 5,976,967 
			  Remploy 0 
			  Overseas Firms 0 
			
			 2007-08 British Firms 4,759,264 
			  Remploy 0 
			  Overseas Firms 0 
		
	
	The Department of Transport utilises the Office of Government Commerce Buying Solutions office furniture contract for the vast majority of its furniture purchases. All companies on that contract are British based or have British operating arms.

Departmental Recruitment

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many staff of each grade recorded as being  (a) from an ethnic minority,  (b) white and  (c) of unknown or undeclared ethnicity transferred into DfT(C) from other parts of his Department or other Government departments in the last two years.

Geoff Hoon: 154 people have transferred in to the Department for Transport (Central) from other parts of his Department or other Government Departments during the last two financial years (2006-07 and 2007-08) as shown in the following table:
	
		
			  Grade  Ethnicity  Number directly recruited from other Government Departments 
			 PB1 Ethnic minority 0 
			  White 0 
			  Unknown/undeclared 0 
			 PB2 Ethnic minority 1 
			  White 5 
			  Unknown/undeclared 6 
			 PB3 Ethnic minority 4 
			  White 5 
			  Unknown/undeclared 9 
			 PB4 Ethnic minority 6 
			  White 25 
			  Unknown/undeclared 15 
			 PB5 Ethnic minority 2 
			  White 10 
			  Unknown/undeclared 1 
			 PB6 Ethnic minority 2 
			  White 23 
			  Unknown/undeclared 16 
			 PB7 Ethnic minority 2 
			  White 3 
			  Unknown/undeclared 5 
			 SCSPB1 Ethnic minority 0 
			  White 13 
			  Unknown/undeclared 0 
			 SCSPB2 Ethnic minority 0 
			  White 0 
			  Unknown/undeclared 0 
			 SCSPB3 Ethnic minority 0 
			  White 1 
			  Unknown/undeclared 0 
			 Total Ethnic minority 17 
			  White 85 
			  Unknown/undeclared 52

Driving: Bexley

David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many new  (a) provisional and  (b) full driving licences were issued to residents of (i) Bexleyheath and Crayford constituency and (ii) the London Borough of Bexley in each of the last three years.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Driver Vehicle and Licensing Agency does not readily hold this information in the requested format.

Railways: Construction

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what consideration his Department has given to the introduction of Maglev technology in the British rail network.

Paul Clark: The July 2007 Rail White Paper, Delivering a Sustainable Railway, set out the Government's strategy to improve the quality of inter-urban rail services, and to make the best use of existing networks by lengthening existing trains, increasing service frequencies and tackling key congestion pinch points.
	The White Paper proposals are measured against the key tests of capacity, quality of service, value for money and environment. Increasing capacity is key, particularly in those services experiencing crowding.
	The White Paper was clear that Maglev would offer less flexibility than a conventional railway to adapt to future changing patterns of demand. For example, it would be unable to accommodate other rail services, While Maglev currently operates on a relatively short point-to-point basis, scaling the technology up to a national network is unproven.

Sight Impaired

Tom Levitt: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what guidelines his Department follows in respect of making printed materials and forms accessible to people suffering red/green colour blindness.

Geoff Hoon: The general publishing policy guidance for the Department for Transport staff producing printed material for people with visual disorders highlight the need to avoid light typefaces, use of 14 pt type and maximising contrast of colours much as possible.
	Specific guidance related to red/green colour blindness include using where possible;
	dark colours on light background;
	increased contrast between colours and type;
	use of stripes, hatching etc in place of colours;
	avoidance of red/green adjacent to each other.

Departmental Data Protection

Shailesh Vara: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many contracts  (a) his Department and  (b) its agencies have which allow contractors to store personal data of UK citizens overseas; for which contracts this applies; in which countries the data for each contract is held; and how many people have their data stored overseas in the case of each such contract.

Gerry Sutcliffe: My Department has no such contracts.

Departmental Official Hospitality

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what records his Department maintains of its expenditure on  (a) official hospitality and  (b) alcohol for official hospitality.

Barbara Follett: The Department records information on its expenditure on hospitality, including the associated staff costs, in such a way as it states the costs of officials functions, internal working lunches and other hospitality separately.
	The Department's accounting system does not record information on alcohol separately, and this information could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
	All expenditure on official hospitality is made in accordance with published departmental guidance on gifts and hospitality, based on the principles of Managing Public Money and the Treasury handbook on Regularity and Propriety.

Offenders

Edward Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many former prisoners are employed by his Department; and what his Department's policy is on employing former prisoners.

Gerry Sutcliffe: There are no former prisoners employed in the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. A criminal record is not an automatic bar to disqualifying an individual from appointment.

Arms Trade: Eritrea

Michael Moore: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform if he will list the approved export licences to Eritrea in 2007; how many applications for licences to export to Eritrea were refused during  (a) 2007 and (b) 2008; in respect of what types of goods and services such applications were refused; and what the grounds were for refusal.

Ian Pearson: The Government publish detailed information on export licences issued, refused and revoked, by destination, including a summary of the items covered by these licences, and where appropriate the criterion against which the licence has been refused, in its Annual and Quarterly Reports on Strategic Export Controls.
	The Government's Annual Reports, published since 1997, and Quarterly Reports, published since 2004, are available from the House of Commons Library and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) website at
	http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/about-the-fco/publications/publications/annual-reports/export-controls1.
	The most recent annual report published covers 2007 and latest quarterly report cover the first quarter of 2008.

Business: Ethics

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what steps the Government has taken to ensure that private companies are socially responsible in their actions.

Ian Pearson: The Government are a strong supporter of responsible business behaviour and promotes a business-led, voluntary approach to promote corporate responsibility as mainstream business practice. There is now a statutory statement of directors' duties in the Companies Act 2006, which includes the duty to promote the success of the company for the benefit of its members. The UK also promotes adherence to the OECD Guidelines for Multi-national Enterprises, which set recommendations for good corporate behaviour.

Departmental Public Consultation

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform on which occasions his Department and its predecessor has convened a citizens' jury or randomly-drawn panel of people to aid the Department's policy-making since 2000; whether the participants were paid in each case; and if he will make a statement.

Ian Pearson: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 22 October,  Official Report, column reference 347W, to the hon. member for Maidenhead. There have been no citizens' juries since July 2007 and to check the position back to 2000 could only be done at disproportionate cost.

Finsbury Ltd.

Norman Baker: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform on what dates since 1 January 2007  (a) Ministers and  (b) officials in his Department have had discussions with (i) Finsbury Ltd. and (ii) Roland Rudd.

Patrick McFadden: holding answer 15 December 2008
	The information requested is as follows.
	 Finsbury Ltd .
	Since 1 January 2007, Ministers have not had discussions with Finsbury Ltd. No meetings with officials have been reported either.
	 Roland Rudd
	Since 1 January 2007, discussions have been held which Roland Rudd attended on the following dates:
	A Secretary of State has had discussions with Roland Rudd on:
	11 September 2007Secretary of State had an introductory meeting with BNE Members;
	19 December 2007John Hutton attended a BNE breakfast event on Europe and to discuss 14 January 2008 Global Europe Conference;
	7 January 2008Telephone conversation to catch-up on preparations for the Global Europe Conference on 14 January 2008;
	14 January 2008The BERR/FCO 'Business Priorities for a Global Europe' Conference was organised in co-operation with BNE, with Roland Rudd chairing the event and BERR Secretary of State John Hutton was one of the speakers;
	17 June 2008John Hutton attended a dinner with BNE members:
	17 October 2008Secretary of State met with Roland Rudd;
	10 December 2008Lord Mandelson had a breakfast meeting with Roland Rudd and several BNE company members to discuss EU economic reform issues;
	17 December 2008Lord Mandelson had a second breakfast meeting with Roland Rudd and several other BNE company members to discuss EU economic reform issues.
	Ministers have had discussions with Roland Rudd on:
	2 October 2008BERR Minister of State Shriti Vadera attended a breakfast meeting with BNE (Roland Rudd attended);
	7 March 2008Dinner attended by BERR Minister of State Shriti Vadera, Roland Rudd, and other guests;
	7 May 2008BERR Minister of State Shriti Vadera spoke at BNE Enlargement Seminar;
	8 December 2008The Global Europe Business Summit was attended by BERR Minister of State Shriti Vadera and Roland Rudd was one of the business participants (representing BNE).

Keep your Future Afloat Campaign

Francis Maude: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform with reference to the answer to the hon. Member for Rochford and Southend East of 27 October 2008,  Official Report, column 722W, on the Keep your Future Afloat campaign, for what reason the North West Regional Development Agency provided funding to the campaign; and what expenditure the campaign undertook as a result of the funding provided.

Patrick McFadden: NWDA funding has been used over a number of years to enable KOFAC Co-ordinating Committee to continue delivering a targeted lobbying campaign to sustain a significant number of jobs in the naval shipbuilding industrial base of north-west England. Targets of the more recent campaign have been future aircraft carriers, Astute and replacement Vanguard class submarines, MARS supply ships, civil nuclear and other diversification opportunities.
	Funding goes towards project management, essential research, preparation of customised lobby material and arrangement of attendance at national conferences and other events.

Postcodes

Greg Knight: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform if he will investigate the pricing structure operated by the Post Office in respect of access to its postcode address file; what rates for access are payable by  (a) voluntary and non-profit organisations and  (b) commercial organisations; and if he will make a statement.

Patrick McFadden: holding answer 17 December 2008
	The Postcode Address File (PAF) is owned and managed by Royal Mail. As specified under the Postal Services Act 2000 and as a condition of its licence, the company is obliged to maintain the Postcode Address File (the PAF) and to make it available to any person who wishes to use it on terms that are reasonable. Prices for accessing the PAF are published on Royal Mail's website
	www.royalmail.com.
	If any PAF user or any stakeholder feels that Royal Mail is not complying with the terms of section 116 of the PSA 2000 or Condition 22 of its licence, Postcomm, the industry regulator, will consider the merits of any such complaints in the light of its statutory duties.

Postcodes

Greg Knight: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what representations he has received on making access to the Post Office's postcode address file  (a) cheaper and  (b) free.

Patrick McFadden: holding answer 17 December 2008
	None. Postcomm, the industry regulator, in accordance with its statutory responsibilities, carried out a consultation on the management of and access to the Postal Address File (PAF) in 2006 and published a decision document in April 2007 which laid down new safeguards for the future management of the PAF. The consultation asked all PAF users for comments on a series of proposals designed to make sure that the database is managed and made available to other organisations wishing to use it on fair and reasonable terms. Following the consultation, Postcomm held discussions with Royal Mail, which agreed to implement all the recommendations outlined in the report. These included the setting up of an independent PAF Advisory Board to give independent advice to the Address Management Unit of Royal Mail on behalf of PAF users. More information on Postcomm's consultation and decision can be found on its website
	www.psc.gov.uk.
	Postcomm will consider any complaints over access to the Postcode Address File.

Postwatch: Publications

Tim Loughton: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what the cost of producing the Postwatch publication Post, Present and Future was.

Patrick McFadden: The cost of producing the hardback report, Post, present and future, published by Postwatch is given as follows:
	Production costs: 29,010

Regional Development Agencies

Paul Goodman: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform 
	(1)  how much each regional development agency plans to spend on cohesion and integration work in  (a) 2008-09 and  (b) each of the two subsequent years;
	(2)  how many staff in each regional development agency work on cohesion and integration; and what the cost of employing these staff is expected to be in  (a) 2008-09 and  (b) each of the two subsequent years.

Patrick McFadden: While regional development agencies (RDAs) take account of cohesion and integration issues, RDAs do not record expenditure according to cohesion and integration as a category of corporate spending. Furthermore, to separate out this data would incur disproportionate cost.

Regional Economic Council

Dai Davies: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform with reference to the answer of 18 November 2008,  Official Report, column 425W, on the Regional Economic Council, where on his Department's website the notes following each regional economic council are located.

Patrick McFadden: The minutes can be found on the BERR website:
	www.berr.gov.uk
	under the 'What we do heading' and 'Regional Economic Development' section. A link to the Regional Economic Council will be found on this page.
	http://www.berr.gov.uk/whatwedo/regional/index.html

Royal Mail: Manpower

Roger Williams: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what assessment he has made of the effect of part privatisation of Royal Mail on the number of jobs in the organisation; and if he will make a statement.

Patrick McFadden: The Government are taking forward the proposal for Royal Mail to enter into a strategic minority partnership with a postal operator with a proven record in transforming its business, working closely with the workforce. Royal Mail will remain publicly owned.
	Any impact on jobs associated with the modernisation of the Royal Mail is an operational matter for the management of the company.

Admiralty House

Eric Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster with reference to the answer to the hon. Member for Bromley and Chislehurst of 22 July 2008,  Official Report, column 1255W, on Admiralty House, what catering services were provided by the Cabinet Office's provider on a re-charge basis.

Kevin Brennan: I refer the hon. Member to the reply that was given to him on 9 June 2008,  Official Report, column 94W.

Bowel Cancer

Edward Garnier: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many  (a) men and  (b) women were diagnosed with bowel cancer in each parliamentary constituency in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

Kevin Brennan: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 17 December 2008:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking how many (a) men and (b) women were diagnosed with bowel cancer in each UK parliamentary constituency in each of the last five years for which figures are available.
	The latest available figures for newly diagnosed cases of cancer (incidence) are for the year 2006 for England and Wales, and the year 2005 for Scotland and Northern Ireland. Table 1 showing the numbers of newly diagnosed cases of bowel cancer for (a) men, and Table 2 for (b) women, in each UK parliamentary constituency for the years 2001 to 2005, and in each parliamentary constituency in England and Wales for 2006, have been placed in the House of Commons library.

Census

Eric Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what the timetable for the Census rehearsal is.

Kevin Brennan: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated December 2008:
	As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking what the timetable for the Census rehearsal is.(246060)
	The rehearsal for the Census in England and Wales will take place on 11 October 2009 in some 61,000 households in Lancaster, 40,000 in Newham and 34,000 in the Isle of Anglesey.
	The aims of the rehearsal are to rehearse the field operations and processing activities for a defined set of addresses; to pilot and evaluate all aspects of the 2011 Census design; to identify aspects for improvement and to develop effective ways of working with local authorities, community groups and other stakeholders.
	We are already working closely with the local authorities in these areas to establish effective ways of working together in preparation for 2011. and are currently developing form-tracking and operational systems. Address checking in rehearsal areas begins in February and will continue until the end of April. The award of the contract for recruitment, payment and training of field staff is expected at the end of March. Publicity in rehearsal areas will be launched in April. In June the rehearsal questionnaires will be printed and field staff training will begin. Delivery of questionnaires, primarily by post-out but by hand in some areas and to communal establishments will start in September. Also in September the on line facility and contact centre will be available. Although the rehearsal is voluntary, some of the follow-up procedures will be rehearsed and this will begin soon after 11 October.
	The questionnaires to be used in the 2009 rehearsal have recently been released and are available on the website at
	http://www.ons.gov.uk/census/2011-census/2011-census-questionnaire-content/2009-rehearsal-questionnaire/index.html

Charities: Economic Situation

Christopher Fraser: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what assessment his Department has made of the effect on charitable bodies of the economic downturn.

Kevin Brennan: On 24 November, the Minister for the Third Sector co-chaired a summit on the impact of the downturn on the third sector, including charitable bodies, at which a number of the key third sector representative bodies provided information. A summary of this discussion is available on the Office of the Third Sector website
	http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/media/101516/summit_summary.pdf.

Charities: Economic Situation

Christopher Fraser: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what steps the Government is taking to support charities in the economic downturn.

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what steps the Government is taking to support charities during the economic downturn.

Kevin Brennan: On 24 November, the Minister for the Third Sector co-chaired a summit with NCVO (National Council for Voluntary Organisations) on the impact of the downturn on the third sector. At the summit, the Minister announced plans to publish a Government action plan in the new year. The action plan will embed a response to the downturn across the OTS' existing activities and work across Government to develop responses to remaining unmet needs.

Employment

James Clappison: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many  (a) UK nationals,  (b) UK-born people,  (c) foreign nationals,  (d) non-UK EU nationals and  (e) non-EU nationals of working age were in employment in (i) the public sector and (ii) the private sector in each of (A) the last four quarters and (B) the last 10 years for which figures are available; and if he will also express such numbers as a proportion of each sector in each case.

Kevin Brennan: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated January 2009:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking how many (a) UK nationals, (b) UK-born people, (c) foreign nationals, (d) non-UK KU nationals and (e) non-BU nationals of working age were in employment in (i) the public sector and (ii) the private sector in each of (A) the last four quarters and (B) the last 10 years for which figures are available; and if he will also express such numbers as a proportion of each sector in each case. (246180)
	The requested information is shown in the attached tables.
	The estimates are derived from the Labour Force Survey (LFS) in order to provide the breakdowns by nationality and country of birth. These estimates are based on the respondents' views about the organisation for which they work. They do not correspond to official Public Sector Employment estimates, which come directly from surveys of employers and are based on National Accounts definitions.
	The public sector definition used to answer this question should not be compared with the industry sector breakdown given in your parliamentary question 246179.
	As with any sample survey, estimates from the LFS are subject to a margin of uncertainty.
	The figures in the table are derived from the LFS microdata, which are weighted using the official population estimates published in autumn 2007. Consequently, the estimates from Q3 2006 are not entirely consistent with the figures published in the monthly Labour Market Statistics First Release, or the migrant worker figures published every quarter, which are weighted using more up-to-date population estimates.
	
		
			  Employment levels and percentage( 1)  working in each sector for working-age( 2)  people by nationality and country of birth, United Kingdom, not seasonally adjusted 
			  Thousands and Percentages 
			   Public Sector 
			   UK Nationals  UK born  Non-UK nationals( 3)  Non-UK EU national( 4)  Non-EU nationals 
			   Level  Percentage  Level  Percentage  Level  Percentage  Level  Percentage  Level  Percentage 
			 1999 Q3 5,723 96 5,484 92 218 4 93 2 125 2 
			 2000 Q3 5,847 96 5,615 92 239 4 93 2 146 2 
			 2001 Q3 5,850 96 5,597 92 234 4 76 1 157 3 
			 2002 Q3 5,993 96 5,730 92 261 4 94 2 167 3 
			 2003 Q3 6,056 95 5,785 91 289 5 92 1 197 3 
			 2004 Q3 6,311 95 6,026 91 321 5 111 2 209 3 
			 2005 Q3 6,399 95 6,117 90 364 5 132 2 232 3 
			 2006 Q3 6,352 95 6,056 90 355 5 114 2 241 4 
			 2007 Q3 6,214 94 5,900 90 367 6 136 2 231 4 
			 2007 Q4 6,305 94 5,979 90 367 5 148 2 218 3 
			 2008 Q1 6,299 94 5,970 89 384 6 136 2 249 4 
			 2008 Q2 6,349 94 6,025 90 375 6 138 2 236 4 
			 2008 Q3(5) *6,293 94 *5,973 90 **373 6 ***134 2 **238 4 
			  Source: Labour Force Survey 
		
	
	
		
			   Private Sector 
			   UK Nationals  UK born  Non-UK nationals( 3)  Non-UK EU national( 4)  Non-EU nationals 
			   Level  Percentage  Level  Percentage  Level  Percentage  Level  Percentage  Level  Percentage 
			 1999 Q3 19,683 96 18,882 92 788 4 329 2 459 2 
			 2000 Q3 19,751 96 18,967 92 900 4 352 2 548 3 
			 2001 Q3 19,803 95 19,024 92 975 5 388 2 587 3 
			 2002 Q3 19,740 95 18,888 91 1,035 5 365 2 671 3 
			 2003 Q3 19,807 95 18,939 91 1,075 5 380 2 695 3 
			 2004 Q3 19,705 95 18,832 90 1,139 5 440 2 699 3 
			 2005 Q3 19,774 94 18,836 90 1,249 6 522 2 726 3 
			 2006 Q3 19,639 93 18,702 88 1,547 7 635 3 912 4 
			 2007 Q3 19,688 92 18,681 87 1,731 8 830 4 900 4 
			 2007 Q4 19,618 92 18,617 87 1,795 8 859 4 936 4 
			 2008 Q1 19,447 91 18,457 87 1,853 9 925 4 928 4 
			 2008 Q2 19,404 91 18,388 86 1,872 9 917 4 955 4 
			 2008 Q3(5) *19,513 91 *18,493 86 *1,895 9 *906 4 *988 5 
			 (1) The percentages show the associated levels expressed as a proportion of the total number of working-age people (including those who did not state their nationality or country of birth) working in each sector. (2) Men aged 16-64 and women aged 16-59. (3) Excludes those whose nationality was not known. (4) The A8 (Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia) joined the EU on 1 May 2004 and are included from 2004 Q3 onwards. Bulgaria and Romania joined the EU on 1 January 2007 and are included from 2007 Q1 onwards. (5) Coefficients of Variation have been calculated for the latest period as an indication of the quality of the estimates, as described below: Guide to Quality: The Coefficient of Variation (CV) indicates the quality of an estimate, the smaller the CV value the higher the quality. The true value is likely to lie within +/- twice the CV - for example, for an estimate of 200 with a CV of 5 per cent. we would expect the population total to be within the range 180-220.  Key Coefficient of Variation (CV)  (%) Statistical robustness * 0 = CV 5 Estimates are considered precise. ** 5 = CV 10 Estimates are considered reasonably precise. *** 10 = CV  20 Estimates are considered acceptable. **** CV = 20 Estimates are considered too unreliable for practical purposes.  Note: It should be noted that the above estimates exclude people in most types of communal establishment (e.g. hotels, boarding houses, hostels, mobile home sites etc).  Source: Labour Force Survey

Foreign Workers

Frank Field: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster with reference to the answer to the hon. Member for Yeovil of 19 October 2007,  Official Report, column 1353-5W, on migrant workers, what his most recent estimate of the number of migrant workers in the UK between 1997 and 2012 is.

Kevin Brennan: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 12 January 2009:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking what the most recent estimate of the number of migrant workers in the UK between 1997 and 2012 is, with reference to the Answer to the hon. Member for Yeovil of 19 October 2007, Official Report, column 1353-5 W. (246719)
	The attached table gives the number of people in employment in the UK of working age, who. were either United Kingdom or foreign born, for the three month period ending September, for each year from 1997 to 2008. Projections of migrant workers to 2012 are not available from either the Labour Force Survey (LFS) or the National Population Projections.
	When interpreting the figures in the table, it is important to bear in mind the points made in my 19 October 2007 letter about the LFS sampling frame, definitions, coverage and how the survey results are weighted.
	The figures in the table differ from those given previously as follows: the survey results are weighted to Autumn 2007 population estimates instead of 2003 population estimates; estimates are provided for 1998 and 2000 as a result of this re-weighting, whereas these estimates were previously unavailable; the three months ending in September have been supplied, as opposed to the three months ending in June, because this gives the most up to date estimate in 2008.
	The estimates from Q3 2006 onwards are not entirely consistent with the figures published in the monthly Labour Market Statistics First Release, or the migrant worker figures published every quarter, which are weighted using more up-to-date population estimates.
	As with any sample survey, estimates from the LFS are subject to a margin of uncertainty.
	
		
			  Table 1: Number of people in employment of working age( 1)  who were born in United Kingdom or abroad 1997-2008 United Kingdom, not seasonally adjusted 
			  Thousands 
			  Three months ending September each year  All persons( 2)  Born in UK  Born abroad( 3) 
			 1997 25,893 23,954 1,939 
			 1998 26,197 24,195 2,000 
			 1999 26,542 24,490 2,050 
			 2000 26,865 24,700 2,164 
			 2001 26,980 24,726 2,252 
			 2002 27,137 24,713 2,422 
			 2003 27,368 24,847 2,518 
			 2004 27,597 24,958 2,635 
			 2005 27,900 25,052 2,845 
			 2006 28,000 24,849 3,146 
			 2007 28,146 24,694 3,445 
			 2008(4) *28,214 *24,580 *3,629 
			 (1) Defined as females aged 16 to 59 and males aged 16 to 64. (2) Includes people born outside of the UK, and those people who did not state their country of birth. (3) Does not include people who did not state their country of birth. (4) Coefficients of Variation have been calculated for the latest period as an indication of the quality of the estimates, as described below:  Guide to Quality: The Coefficient of Variation (CV) indicates the quality of an estimate, the smaller the CV value the higher the quality. The true value is likely to lie within -/- twice the CV - for example, for an estimate of 200 with a CV of 5 per cent. we would expect the population total to be within the range 180-220  Key Coefficient of Variation (CV) (%) Statistical robustness  * 0 = CV 5 Estimates are considered precise. ** 5 = CV 10 Estimates are considered reasonably precise. *** 10 = CV 20 Estimates are considered acceptable. **** CV = 20 Estimates are considered too unreliable for practical purposes  Notes: It should be noted that the country of birth question in the LFS: excludes those who have not been resident in the UK excludes students in halls who do not have a UK resident parent excludes people in most other types of communal establishment (e.g. Hotels, boarding houses, hostels, mobile home sites etc) is grossed to population estimates that only include migrants staying for twelve months or more microdata is grossed to population estimates consistent with those published in Autumn 2007, meaning estimates are not entirely consistent with the figures published in the monthly Labour Market Statistics First Release.  Source: Labour Force Survey

Home Information Packs

Eric Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster with reference to the answer to the hon. Member for Bromley and Chislehurst of 22 July 2008,  Official Report, column 1258W, on departmental property, how many home information packs his Department has purchased to date; and how many of these included home condition reports.

Kevin Brennan: The Cabinet Office has not purchased any home information packs.

Minimum Wage: Benefits

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster 
	(1)  how many married couples without children are unemployed and in receipt of jobseeker's allowance and are  (a) local authority tenants and  (b) private tenants (i) in total and (ii) broken down by the smallest geographical area for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  how many married couple families without children have the head of the family working up to  (a) 16 hours a week and  (b) 30 hours a week on no more than the national minimum wage, broken down by those that are (i) local authority tenants and (ii) private tenants (A) in total and (B) broken down by the smallest geographical area for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  how many married couple families with  (a) one child and  (b) two children are unemployed and in receipt of jobseeker's allowance and are (i) local authority tenants and (ii) private tenants (A) in total and (B) broken down by the smallest geographical area for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement;
	(4)  how many lone parents with  (a) one child and  (b) two children are working up to (i) 16 hours a week and (ii) 30 hours a week on no more than the national minimum wage, broken down by those that are (A) local authority tenants and (B) private tenants (1) in total and (2) broken down by the smallest geographical area for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.

Kevin Brennan: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated January 2009:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Questions.
	To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many married couples without children are unemployed and in receipt of jobseeker's allowance and are (a) local authority tenants and (b) private tenants (i) in total and (ii) broken down by the smallest geographical area for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement. (246632)
	To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many married couple families without children have the head of the family working up to (a) 16 hours a week and (b) 30 hours a week on no more than the national minimum wage, broken down by those that are (i) local authority tenants and (ii) private tenants (A) in total and (B) broken down by the smallest geographical area for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement. (246633)
	To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many married couple families with (a) one child and (b) two children are unemployed and in receipt of jobseeker's allowance and are (i) local authority tenants and (ii) private tenants (A) in total and (B) broken down by the smallest geographical area for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement. (246634)
	To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many lone parents with (a) one child and (b) two children are working up to (i) 16 hours a week and (ii) 30 hours a week on no more than the national minimum wage, broken down by those that are (A) local authority tenants and (B) private tenants (1) in total and (2) broken down by the smallest geographical area for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement. (246637)
	The number of people claiming Job Seekers Allowance (JSA) are taken from the Jobcentre Plus administrative system. This system does not collect the family characteristics of claimants nor does it collect information on whether the family is in private or local authority rented accommodation. It is therefore not possible to use this source to provide estimates for the groups requested. The Labour Force Survey (LFS) collects information on individuals claiming JSA but reliable estimates for the groups requested are not available.
	The Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) is the principle source of statistics of the earnings of low paid employees. However, the ASHE does not collect information about family characteristics therefore can not provide estimates of the number of families on the national minimum wage.
	The LFS can provide estimates of the characteristics of low paid workers but reliable estimates of the number of families on the minimum wage by housing tenure are not available.

Community Orders: North West

Andrew Stunell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many community orders were issued in  (a) Stockport Metropolitan Borough,  (b) Greater Manchester and  (c) the North West in each of the last five years.

David Hanson: The available data for community sentences, including community orders made under the Criminal Justice Act 2003, is contained in the following table.
	Data held by the Ministry of Justice is available by Police Force Area (PFA) and the table shows the figures for Greater Manchester PFA, and the North West (comprising Cumbria, Lancashire, Merseyside, Greater Manchester and Cheshire PFAs). This data is not made available for smaller areas because detailed checks on sentencing data are not carried out at court level.
	
		
			  Number of persons sentenced to community sentences including community orders( 1)  in Greater Manchester Police Force Area and North West Region( 2 ) 2003-07 
			   Greater Manchester  North West Region 
			   Total community sentences  O f which  Community orders  Total community sentences  O f which  Community orders 
			 2003 12,624   30,701   
			 2004 14,351   33,820   
			 2005 14,917  3,858 34,544  8,846 
			 2006 14,209  9,044 32,997  20,164 
			 2007 14,103  9,629, 35,168  23,476 
			 (1) Community orders are available for adults only and for offences committed on or after 04/042005. (2) The North West Region comprises Cumbria, Lancashire, Merseyside, Greater Manchester and Cheshire Police Force Areas.  Note: These figures have been drawn from administrative data systems. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system.

Departmental Correspondence

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many  (a) letters and  (b) e-mails received by his Department had not been responded to as at 15 December 2008.

Jack Straw: The Cabinet Office, on an annual basis, publishes a report to Parliament on the performance of departments in replying to correspondence from Members and Peers. Information relating to 2008 will be published as soon as it has been collated. The report for 2007 was published on 20 March 2008,  Official Report column 71-74WS. Reports for earlier years are available in the Library of the House. When responding to all correspondence Departments should abide by the guidance as set out in 'Handling correspondence from MPs, Lords, MEPs and Members of Devolved Assemblies' which was published by the Cabinet office in July 2005 and may be read at:
	http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/propriety and ethics/handling_members_correspondence.aspx.
	As at 22 December (the nearest date for which I have records), 81 letters from MPs were outstanding and had not received a response within target.
	In respect of emails and correspondence from the public, it is not possible to provide the information within the 750 disproportionate cost limit.

Departmental Data Protection

Shailesh Vara: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many contracts  (a) his Department and  (b) its agencies have which allow contractors to store personal data of UK citizens overseas; for which contracts this applies; in which countries the data for each contract is held; and how many people have their data stored overseas in the case of each such contract.

Jack Straw: The Ministry of Justice and its agencies, has one contract for an online training facility which is provided from the United States of America. The application holds the names and payroll references for approximately 4,000 staff who have completed an e-learning package. The company is a member of the United States Safe Harbor agreement, which ensures a similar level of data protection to that required by UK data protection law. All data transfers are required to comply with the Data Protection Act 1998.
	The contract expires in April 2009. Options for the future are being considered with a view to ensuring the data will be stored in the UK after that date.

Departmental Data Protection

Shailesh Vara: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice when his Department appointed a senior information risk owner in accordance with the report, Data Handling Procedures in Government and the accompanying document Cross-departmental Actions: Mandatory Minimum Action; when the appointment was made; and what grade the person holds within the Department.

Jack Straw: The Ministry of Justice's Senior Information Risk Owner (SIRO) is the Director General of the Democracy, Constitution and Law Group who took over this responsibility in spring 2008, in advance of the Data Handling Review's publication. Prior to her taking over the role, the Ministry of Justice's SIRO was the Director General of Strategy.

Departmental Freedom of Information

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many requests for information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 were made to his Department since 2005; how many requests were  (a) agreed to and  (b) refused in each of those years; how many refusals were subject to appeal to the Information Commissioner in each of those years; how many appeals were successful; if he will place in the Library copies of the material subsequently provided in each case; how much was spent by his Department opposing each appeal; which (i) consultants and (ii) law firms were employed by his Department in connection with each appeal; and if he will make a statement.

Michael Wills: The Ministry of Justice has published annual reports containing statistical information on Freedom of Information requests received by monitored bodies (including central government departments) in 2005, 2006 and 2007. Statistics on requests received in the first three quarters of 2008 have also been published.
	These reports include statistics on the number of non-routine requests received by this department and the initial outcomes of these requests. They also contain the number of complaints to the Information Commissioner of which we have been notified, and the outcomes of these complaints.
	The reports can be found at the following address:
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/freedomofinformationquarterly.htm
	In addition, copies of each report have been placed in the Libraries of both Houses.
	Providing copies of material subsequently provided in each case, and identifying any costs relating to consultants or law firms incurred in handling them would incur disproportionate cost. However, in most cases under investigation. Ministry of Justice officials use departmental lawyers or the Central Clearing House, also based here, for specialist advice where necessary. As such, no external cost is incurred.

Departmental Pay

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will make it his policy to ensure that those temporary and permanent employees at the same grade in his Department who are paid at an hourly rate are paid at the same rate.

Michael Wills: All staff employed directly by the core Ministry of Justice and the National Offender Management Service are subject to the same arrangements for pay irrespective of whether they are temporary (i.e. fixed term) employees or permanent staff.
	Where they exist, differences in hourly pay rates for individuals within the same grade are for reasons other than whether the member of staff is fixed term or permanent. Such differences may be the position within the pay band or location. Following machinery of Government changes, there are small number of staff within the Ministry employed on their former employers' terms and conditions and who opted to retain their legacy pay arrangements. These staff therefore have an hourly salaries determined by those legacy terms.
	Hourly rates paid to the staff engaged through temporary Staffing Agencies are determined between the Agency and the individual. When parliament has decided the implementation date of the Agency Workers Directive, guidance on the terms will be reviewed with suppliers.

Electoral Commission: Powers of Entry

Andrew Tyrie: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether he has consulted the Electoral Commission on whether the proposed new powers of entry for the Electoral Commission in the Political Parties and Elections Bill will potentially allow entry into the homes of  (a) trades union staff and  (b) trades union members who donate to a political party through paying a political levy, in trades unions that affiliate to a political party; and if he will make a statement.

Michael Wills: The Political Parties and Elections Bill currently provides for two specific, constrained, powers of entry. The provisions were discussed with the Electoral Commission during their development.
	The first is a restatement of the existing power under section 146(3) of the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000, which allows the Commission to enter premises and take copies of information relating to income and expenditure from a registered political party, a recognised third party and a permitted participant in a referendum. This power can be exercised by the Commission for the purposes of carrying out its functions but does not authorise the use of force to enter premises. However, it is a criminal offence to intentionally obstruct the Commission from entering premises.
	This power is replicated in clause 1(5) of schedule 19A (to be inserted into the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 by schedule 1 to the Bill). It is, however, extended in its scope to encompass candidates (other than candidates in Scottish local government elections), election agents, regulated donees (including MPs) and regulated participants.
	In addition, the Political Parties and Elections Bill seeks to provide new powers for use by the Commission when it undertakes an investigation in circumstances where it has reasonable grounds for suspecting that a breach of PPERA has taken place: specifically, the Bill provides the Commission with new powers to request information, to put questions and to apply for a warrant to enable it to enter premises when carrying out an investigation into a suspected offence or other contravention of the 2000 Act; each of these new powers is subject to a series of safeguards. These powers and the associated safeguards are set out in schedule 1 of the Bill, which proposes to insert a new schedule 19A into the Political Parties Elections and Referendums Act 2000.
	In relation to the new power to enter premises, under paragraph 3 of schedule 19A the Commission will need to apply for a warrant: there is no automatic right of entry. For a warrant to be issued, the Commission must demonstrate on oath to a justice of the peace that it has reasonable grounds for believing that an offence has been committed (or other contravention of PPERA has occurred). The Commission must also satisfy a justice of the peace that documents are on any premises that were withheld following an earlier request made under paragraph 2(2) of the schedule or that are otherwise relevant to the investigation. When entering the premises that a warrant authorises entry into, any Commission staff must be accompanied at all times by a constable.
	A warrant issued under paragraph 3 is capable of applying to any person or organisation that the tests in the paragraph above are met. On that basis it is capable of applying to trade unions and their members in the same way that it may apply to any other person or organisation.

Human Trafficking: Refuges

Dominic Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what referral criteria are put in place for the Poppy Project; and whether the Government has recently considered amending such criteria.

Maria Eagle: To qualify for safe accommodation under the Government-funded Poppy project individuals must be over 18-years-old, trafficked into the United Kingdom and sexual exploited in England and Wales. Priority for accommodation is given to individuals that have experienced exploitation in the immediate three months prior to referral. This year we also piloted support provisions for victims of trafficking for forced labour and domestic servitude.
	We ratified the Council of Europe convention on action against trafficking in human beings on 17 December 2008. This will require us to have minimum levels of support for all identified victims of human trafficking by spring 2009. We are currently tendering for a national support model for victims of human trafficking for sexual exploitation and domestic servitude, as they share similar high-level support needs. We are also working with the United Kingdom Human Trafficking Centre to develop support services for victims trafficked into forced labour.

Human Trafficking: Victims

Neil Gerrard: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what services his Department provides to people who are identified as having been trafficked.

Maria Eagle: The Ministry of Justice and the Home Office jointly funds the Poppy project to provide specialist, high-level support to victims of human trafficking for sexual exploitation. Victims are provided with a 30 day reflection period, accommodation, advocacy support, access to counselling, interpretative services, access to immigration legal advice, resettlement support and a range of other services to meet their individual needs. The Poppy project also has outreach team. This year the Government piloted support services for victims trafficked into domestic servitude and forced labour.
	We ratified the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings on 17 December 2008 and will come into force in April 2009. This will see the introduction of a 45 day minimum reflection period and one-year temporary residence permits, both of which will be extendable in certain circumstances. We will also introduce a national support service model with an increased number of supported accommodation places.

Open Prisons: Prisoner Escapes

Edward Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to his answer of 11 December 2008,  Official Report, column 300-1W, on open prisons: prisoner escapes, what plans he has to reduce the number of absconds from open prisons.

David Hanson: Levels of abscond have fallen over the last decade and are still declining. They are now 54 per cent. lower than in 1996-07. Prisoners undergo a risk assessment process before been considered for open conditions and those considered to be at risk of absconding are not allocated to the open estate. Open prisons take a variety of actions to reduce absconding including effective screening of prisoners when they arrive at the prison coupled with intelligence work within the prison to identify potential absconders and send them back to closed conditions. Work is also being undertaken with the police and CPS to ensure that wherever possible absconders are prosecuted as a deterrent to others. Despite excellent progress in this area we are far from complacent and in the coming year the National Offender Management Service will be building on these achievements to ensure that the downward trend in absconds continues and that best practice is spread across all areas of the country.

Open Prisons: Prisoner Escapes

Edward Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 11 December 2008,  Official Report, columns 300-01W, on open prisons: prisoner escapes, what each of the 125 offences committed by prisoners while unlawfully at large in each of the last 24 months was.

David Hanson: Data in the following table shows the main categories of further offences that prisoners have been charged with committing while unlawfully at large from open prisons in England and Wales between December 2006 and November 2008.
	
		
			  Further offences with which prisoners were charged while unlawfully at large from open prisons during the period 1 December 2006 to 30 November 2008 
			  Offence type  Total recorded 
			 Assault 8 
			 Breach of ASBO 1 
			 Burglary 16 
			 Criminal damage 3 
			 Other driving-related offence 1 
			 Driving whilst disqualified 1 
			 Drug offence 9 
			 Drunk and disorderly 1 
			 Firearm 3 
			 Fraud 1 
			 Murder 1 
			 Obstruct police 1 
			 Other (offence not specified) 21 
			 Possession of weapon 1 
			 Robbery 11 
			 Shoplifting 3 
			 Theft 23 
			 Theft of vehicle 1 
			 Vehicle crime 18 
			 Wounding 1 
			 Total 125 
			  Notes: 1. Data shown is for charges brought against prisoners. Data is not available on outcome following charging. 2. The prisoner who committed the murder then committed suicide and so was not charged. 3. These figures have been drawn from live administrative data systems. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system. 
		
	
	Figures on absconds and a range of other prison performance statistics are also available at:
	http://www.hmprisonservice.gov.uk/abouttheservice/prisonperformance/performancestatistics/

Political Parties and Elections Bill

Andrew Tyrie: EWCA Crim 1094 and  (b) the Fifth Report of the Committee on Standards in Public Life; and if he will make a statement.

Michael Wills: Clause 11 of the Political Parties and Elections Bill would reintroduce the long-standing principle that spending used by candidates for the purposes of their election campaign (often referred to as triggering) which existed prior to the passage of the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 (the 2000 Act).
	The legislation defining candidate spending has been updated since the previous system of triggering was in place and clause 11 does not propose a return to the precise wording that existed prior to 2000. Section 76 of the Representation of the People Act 1983 (the 1983 Act) described candidate expenses as those on account of or in respect of the conduct or management of the election. This wording was removed from section 76 of the 1983 Act by section 132 of the 2000 Act. Section 27 of the Electoral Administration Act 2006 (the 2006 Act) inserted new section 90ZA into the 1983 Act, which clarifies that election expenses in relation to a candidate at an election means any expenses incurred at any time in respect of any matter specified in Part 1 of Schedule 4A of the 1983 Act (also inserted by section 27 of the 2006 Act) which is used for the purposes of the candidate's election after the date when he becomes a candidate at the election. A person is defined as a 'candidate' according to section 118A of the 1983 Act.
	Clause 11 of the Bill would .not restore the previous wording of the 1983 Act. Rather it amends section 90ZA such that the definition of election expenses is capable of including those expenses incurred and used by a person before that person formally becomes a 'candidate' by virtue of section 118 A.
	, which quoted from the Neill Report. The then Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales, Lord Bingham of Cornhill, noted that there was no simple and decisive test to determine whether an expense was or was not to be regarded as en election expense within the meaning of the Act at the time.
	In the case of which items should count towards election expenses, Neill specifically criticised Schedule 3 of the 1983 Act. That Schedule provided a form of return for candidates to complete their declaration as to election expenses. As Neill noted, however, the form largely reproduced the equivalent Schedule in the Corrupt and Illegal Practices Act of 1883 and was therefore considerably out of date. Neill recommended that the Schedule should be revised such that it contained a full and up to date list of items of expenditure (recommendation 46). The 2000 Act accordingly repealed Schedule 3 of the 1983 Act. The 2006 Act inserted new Schedule 4A into the 1983 Act. This Schedule lists in detail the matters which are, and are not, to be regarded as election expenses, providing far greater clarity for candidates than under the previous system of triggering that existed before 2000.
	In the case of determining when a constituency campaign is deemed to have begun, Neill noted the considerable doubt on this point for candidates and political parties, as the 1983 Act made no attempt to define the period of the election or the election campaign. However, Neill concluded despite the difficulties, it is possible for parties, nationally as well as locally, to distinguish in most situations between election and non-election spending.
	Neill therefore recommended that the precedent established by the 1983 Act should continue to be followed, and that expenditure limits should continue to be set in terms of the purpose for which expenditure is incurred rather than in terms of any specified time period (recommendation 51). It is this principle, specifically endorsed by the Neill Report, which clause 11 of the Bill seeks to restore with regard to the candidate spending limit.
	As my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Justice and Lord Chancellor (Jack Straw) said during the first evidence session of the Public Bill Committee, the trigger arrangements are not perfect, but they did act as a dampener. The Government believe that the changes made to the legislation since the passage of the 2000 Act are significant steps in addressing the points made in the Neill Report and the Fiona Jones judgement relating to determining the purpose of expenditure.

Political Parties and Elections Bill

Andrew Tyrie: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer to the right hon. Member for Horsham of 15 September 2008,  Official Report, column 2028W, on the Political Parties and Elections Bill 2007-08, if he will issue guidance on whether the proof of two elements  (a) that the expenditure should be closely related to the machinery of an election and  (b) that the expenses should be primarily or principally incurred for the promotion of the interests of the candidate will again apply in defining local candidate expenditure under the reintroduced trigger rules.

Michael Wills: The Ministry of Justice has no plans to issue guidance on these points. Clause 12 of the Bill provides that the Electoral Commission may issue guidance, supplementing the definition in section 90ZA(3) of the Representation of the People Act 1983, as to the case or circumstances in which expenses are, or are not, to be regarded as incurred for the purposes of a candidate's election.

Political Parties: Finance

Andrew Tyrie: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer to the right hon. Member for Horsham of 15 September 2008,  Official Report, column 2028W, on political parties: finance, what assumptions were made in preparing the impact assessments for the Bill of the consequences of the Electoral Commission guidance on trigger rules being issued after the rules have been commenced at Royal Assent.

Michael Wills: Clause 12 of the Political Parties and Elections Bill amends an existing power granted to the Electoral Commission to issue a code of practice giving guidance on the list of regulated matters for candidate spending (set out in part 1 of schedule 4A of the Representation of the People Act 1983, as inserted by the Electoral Administration Act 2006). Clause 12 of the Bill provides that the Commission may also include in any code of practice guidance, supplementing the definition in section 90ZA(3) of the 1983 Act, on when expenditure will be regarded as for election purposes.
	Clause 11 of the Bill would alter the regulation of candidate expenditure such that all expenditure used for the purposes of an individual's election will be regulated by the candidate spending limit, regardless of when that expenditure is incurred.
	In preparing the impact assessment for clause 11, no assumption was made about the length of time between the commencement of clause 11 of the Bill and the production of a code, of practice or other guidance by the Electoral Commission.
	As stated in the answer provided on 15 September, a code of practice is not a prerequisite to clause 11 of the Bill coming into force. Nevertheless, as my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Justice and Lord Chancellor (Mr. Straw) clearly stated during the first public evidence session of the Bill's Committee stages on 4 November, it is our intention that guidance from the Commission should be in place before the commencement of clause 11.

Political Parties: Finance

Andrew Tyrie: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer to the right hon. Member for Horsham of 17 September 2008,  Official Report, columns 2291-2W, on political parties: finance, whether hon. Members who are deemed to have breached the rules of the Communications Allowance by the House, by virtue of promoting themselves in a partisan manner, will be deemed to have triggered their local candidates' election expenses under the proposed new trigger rules.

Michael Wills: As I wrote in a letter sent to Members of Public Bill Committee on the Political Parties and Elections Bill on 19 November 2008, a copy of which I have placed in the Library of the House, depending on the circumstances of the case, and depending on the nature of the expenditure that led to a complaint, if an MP was found guilty of abusing the Communications Allowance then the follow-on effect might well be that the expenditure would have triggered that MP's candidate expenditure limit. That would be the case where the Communications Allowance is used to fund expenditure on a matter listed in schedule 4A for the purposes of promoting his or her election as a candidate at a general election. However, being found guilty of breaching the rules regarding use of the allowance would not automatically lead to a triggering of an MP's election expenses.

Prison Sentences

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many prisoners currently serving prison sentences have served beyond their original or adjusted tariff.

David Hanson: On 15 December 2008 there were 3900 indeterminate sentenced prisoners in custody recorded as being beyond their original or adjusted tariff.
	This figure is taken from the Public Protection Unit Database (PPUD) within the National Offender Management Service. As with any large scale recording system, it is subject to possible errors arising from either data entry or processing.
	It remains for the Parole Board to determine whether the risk presented by any lifer or IPP offender is such that it may be safely managed in the community.

Prisoner Escapes

Edward Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many prisoners have escaped from police, Prison Service or contracted agents' custody whilst in transit or otherwise whilst under escort outside the secure custodial estate in each of the last 10 years.

David Hanson: Levels of escapes are currently at their lowest levels since central recording of this data began in 1995. Data in the following table shows the number of prisoners who have escaped from escort between April 1998 and March 2008 broken down by  (a) Prison Service escorts  (b) contractor escorts. Data on numbers of escapes from police escorts is not collated centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost by contacting every police force in the country.
	
		
			  Number of Prisoners who have escaped from escort 
			   HMPS Escorts  Contractor Escorts( 1)  Total 
			 1998-99 7 55 62 
			 1999-2000 8 59 67 
			 2000-01 8 58 66 
			 2001-02 11 40 51 
			 2002-03 12 33 45 
			 2003-04 6 33 39 
			 2004-05 8 28 36 
			 2005-06 8 17 25 
			 2006-07 6 19 25 
			 2007-08 2 16 18 
			 (1). Data on escapes from contractor escorts includes escorts from police station to court as these are carried out by National Offender Management Service contractors. These figures do not include other police-related escort escapes such as escapes whilst been transported from point of arrest to police station or transport between police stations.  Notes: 1. All figures shown are for KPI Escapes recorded as part of the NOMS performance management system. 2. These figures have been drawn from administrative data systems. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system.

Prisoners Release: Foreigners

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many foreign national prisoners granted immigration bail by Asylum and Immigration Tribunals have subsequently reoffended in each of the last five years.

David Hanson: Information relating to the numbers of foreign national prisoners subject to deportation action who have completed their custodial sentence and been released on bail is not centrally collated at present. Similarly, reoffending data does not specifically identify the number of foreign national prisoners who reoffend. In order to provide the information requested it would be necessary to examine individual case files at disproportionate cost.
	When a foreign criminal who is subject to deportation action is granted bail by the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal and it is believed that the individual presents a risk of harm to the public, the UK Border Agency will always request that the most robust restrictions are imposed upon the individual in order to minimise the likelihood that they will reoffend. The agency will continue to pursue deportation action against such individuals and is on track to not only meet but exceed its target of deportation or removing 5,000 foreign criminals in 2008. Good progress has also been made overall in reducing reoffending; the latest figures show that between 2000 and 2006 the number of reoffences committed by offenders released from custody has fallen 15.1 per cent.

Prisoners: Armed Forces

Peter Viggers: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many  (a) male and  (b) female former members of the (i) Royal Navy, (ii) Army, (iii) and Royal Air Force are in prison; and what studies his Department has (A) commissioned and (B) evaluated in links between service in the armed forces and subsequent behaviour leading to detention.

David Hanson: The information requested is not available. Although data from nationally representative surveys of some 2,000 sentenced prisoners near release conducted in 2001, 2003 and 2004 showed the proportion of prisoners who had previously served in the armed forces in those years as 6 per cent., 4 per cent, and 5 per cent, respectively, no research was done on the particular problems raised in the question.
	We are currently exploring with the Ministry of Defence ways to better identify the number of veterans currently serving prison sentences as well as the factors associated with their offending. A number of options are currently being assessed.

Prisoners: Custody

Edward Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  how many adult prisoners serving indeterminate sentences for public protection were in custody on 15 December 2008 beyond their minimum tariff;
	(2)  how many adults were serving indeterminate sentences for public protection on 15 December 2008.

David Hanson: On 15 December 2008 there were 1,224 indeterminate sentence for public protection prisoners, aged over 18, in custody recorded as being beyond their original or adjusted tariff.
	As of 15 December 2008, there were 4,581 offenders, aged over 18 years old, recorded as serving indeterminate sentences for public protection.
	These figures are taken from the Public Protection Unit Database within the National Offender Management Service. As with any large scale recording system, it is subject to possible errors arising from either data entry or processing.
	It is for the independent Parole Board to determine whether the risk presented by an offender serving an indeterminate sentence of imprisonment for public protection is such that it may be safely managed in the community.

Prisons

Edward Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many prisons are at more than 150 per cent. of in use certified normal accommodation.

David Hanson: On 31 October 2008 (latest available), there were 13 out of 140 prison establishments in England and Wales with more than 150 per cent of in use certified normal accommodation.
	This information has been taken from the Ministry of Justice publication Population in Custody Monthly Brief which can be found at the following website:
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/populationincustody.htm
	These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems, which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.

Probation Service for England and Wales

Neil Gerrard: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the size of the Probation Service's caseload in England and Wales is for  (a) community supervision,  (b) licence and  (c) through care.

David Hanson: At 30 June 2008, the number of offenders supervised by the Probation Service in England and Wales under community supervision was 147,786; the number supervised on post release licence was 31,583; and the number supervised pre release was 68,407.
	These figures are taken from the Probation Statistics Quarterly Brief, April to June 2008, which can be found at the following website:
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/probationquarterly.htm.
	These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems, which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.

Young Offenders: Mental Health Services

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what meetings have taken place between the  (a) National Offender Management Service and  (b) Youth Justice Board and the Welsh Assembly Government to discuss the mental health needs of young offenders (i) in custody in Wales and (ii) in young offender institutions in England who have been assessed as requiring mental health services on release in each month of 2008; and if he will make a statement.

David Hanson: There is a joint Welsh Assembly Government and Youth Justice Board Youth Justice Committee for Wales that includes NOMS representation, which has responsibility for overseeing youth justice matters in Wales. This would include devolved areas of responsibility such as mental health matters for young people. The Committee meets on a quarterly basis and during 2008 met on;
	30 January 2008
	8 April 2008
	23 July 2008
	22 October 2008
	Outside the Committee there is ongoing dialogue with the Welsh Assembly Government about the provision of mental health services for people in the justice system.
	Bridgend Prison Health Partnership Board has recently forwarded a draft business case to the Welsh assembly Government for provision of Tier 2/3 Child and adolescent Mental Health Services (CAHMS). That is now under consideration.
	Government for the provision of Tier 2/3 Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services there. I understand that is currently being considered.
	For young offender institutes in England, there is a high level programme board 'Health and Social Care Policy Development Programme Board', which meets quarterly. The board oversees a programme of cross government work for this group of vulnerable children. There is also a 'Health and Social Care Management Group' who meet monthly. Both of these meetings have representation from Ministry of Justice, Department of Health, Department for Children, Schools and Families and the Youth Justice Board.
	During 2008, the Health and Social Care Policy Development Programme Board met on;
	11 March 2008
	29 September 2008
	15 December 2008
	During 2008, the Health and Social Care Management Group met on;
	24 January 2008
	21 February 2008
	24 April 2008
	22 May 2008
	19 June 2008
	17 July 2008
	16 October 2008
	20 November 2008